Campione 09

by Return of the Goddess

  As the guardian of the Hime-Miko of the Sword, Susanoo and Ena had always kept in contact by cellphone.

  But this time, he was apparently playing the dirty trick of pretending to be away(?).

  "It feels like he doesn't want to give directions..."

  As Godou grumbled, Ena took out her Japanese sword and pushed the sword guard with her thumb, loosening it from its sheath.

  This was the preparatory posture for unsheathing a sword. The stance known as "koiguchi wo kiru."[19]

  "White... Goddess. No, it is something else?"

  Yuri was whispering softly, her eyes focused somewhere in the distant sky.

  Something that the others could not see. She must be seeing something through spirit vision.

  "I get it. A visitor is approaching..."

  A cellphone began to vibrate. Amakasu slowly drew out his phone and responded to someone who seemed to be a friend.

  "Kusanagi Godou, be on guard."

  Godou nodded to acknowledge Liliana's warning and prepared his stance.

  —In the next instant, a young girl suddenly manifested. At the location in the sky where Yuri had been staring.

  With brilliant blonde hair styled into curls, her dream-like beauty was like an antique western doll made by a master craftsman. She wore a black dress that was reminiscent of funeral attire.

  A young beauty twelve-years-old or so whose every aspect left a deep impression.

  "Greetings for the first time, Kusanagi Godou-sama."

  An adorable voice as exquisite as gemstones.

  A god —she was not. But she could not possibly be anyone ordinary.

  What was she? Despite looking human, she could not be categorized as human. Godou stared at the ominous young beauty.

  "Pray forgive me for directly addressing by name Your Highness, the god-slaying [King]. My name is Guinevere, and I have appeared here to inform Your Highness of certain matters."

  Godou frowned at the elegant choice of words that did not match the young girl's appearance.

  "If it's just to listen to a few words, I don't mind. But I am a stingy person who doesn't go around with ready gifts for sudden visitors. Is that okay?"

  "Of course, Your Highness."

  Guinevere ignored Godou's cold reception and smiled glamorously.

  This must be the person Lu Yinghua mentioned. It was just intuition, but should not be too far from the truth.

  "I've heard about you before. You're the companion of that woman deeply involved with the Nikkou incident, right?"

  "You are correct. Indeed, Guinevere is a Divine Ancestor as Asherah's kin."

  Her expressions, manner of speaking, motions.

  Everything felt full of pretense, like some kind of superficial layer drawn on top.

  A Divine Ancestor —an existence completely unlike the gods. Godou had heard that they were former goddesses, but Guinevere was acknowledging humans other than Godou. And also, she was nonchalantly keeping tabs on them.

  "My purpose here today is to offer a plan to Kusanagi Godou-sama."

  The blonde Divine Ancestor smiled elegantly as she spoke.

  "Plan?"

  "Yes. Guinevere already found out. As Your Highness' mortal enemy, the goddess Athena has once again appeared in this island country. As long as they are nearby, gods and god-slayers will mutually attract, encounter, face off and slaughter one another."

  Calmly explaining like a little bird singing a song.

  Guinevere continued speaking softly with a melodic voice.

  "Your Highness and Athena's duel is inevitable. I have a plan that will prove effective when the time comes, if only Your Highness will hear it."

  "Something effective in a battle with a god?"

  It sounded as trustworthy as stock market tips guaranteeing massive profits.

  "Hohoho. Suspicious? As befits the young but experienced warrior! But please rest assured, Guinevere is providing a countermeasure that only takes effect in a battle with Athena!"

  "...Hey, that's you, right?"

  Ena addressed the witch in a soft voice as if casually humming a song.

  "You are the one who was watching Ena and the others as we stood on guard. There's a kind of similar feeling. You must be aiming for the Heavenly Reverse Halberd, right?"

  Godou nodded, aware of the sharp senses of the Hime-Miko of the Sword.

  For this Guinevere to appear now, it could not possibly be unrelated to the unearthed divine artifact.

  "Yes. Indeed, Guinevere certainly wants that sacred treasure —it is hoped that Your Highness would offer up that unique divine artifact!"

  Admitting to her crimes, the Divine Ancestor began to approach.

  Walking towards Kusanagi Godou. Taking leisurely footsteps like a girl strolling on a plain blooming with flowers.

  "When Your Highness encounters Athena once more, and my plan works successfully, would Your Highness be so kind as to grant Guinevere's wish? I do hope to obtain Your Highness' consent."

  It felt like a joking request full of pretense.

  Of course Godou was going to ignore it. Everyone else felt the same way.

  Ena drew her sword and Liliana summoned Il Maestro. The two girls stepped forward, blocking Guinevere's path. However, some spell must have been used—

  The Divine Ancestor's dress-clad body moved past the swordsmen and came before Godou like the wind.

  Was the Heavenly Reverse Halberd the target? Godou went on full alert.

  He was not confident he could defend if she used that ability again and aimed for his pocket. Godou took out the divine artifact and tossed it to Amakasu waiting on the side.

  What a competent ninja. He caught the artifact splendidly and put it away in his bosom.

  In the instant when Godou was readying his stance.

  "Hohoho, Your Highness is full of openings as rumored."

  Guinevere approached with quick light steps.

  It did not seem very fast, but she closed the distance just like that, before Godou could mount any defense.

  The witch drew her lips close to Godou's face.

  And kissed him.

  "On the other hand, this kind of generous leniency can be considered proof of a [King]'s magnanimity. A brilliant genius who is not concerned with such trivial things! Guinevere has great hopes for you, Kusanagi-sama!"

  Was it instruction magic? Knowledge was flowing in through the mouths pressed together.

  No, that was not all there was to it. There was more feeling to it like some sort of secret know-how.

  —What is the Holy Grail? The sacred treasure that absorbs the essence of the earth and stores incomparable magical power. In order to unlock its functions, these are the required procedures, knowledge, sensitivities, incantations, rituals, magic...

  Rather than simply transferring knowledge, this spell taught [Magic] on a much higher level!

  By the time Godou realized this, Guinevere had already separated her lips from him.

  "I beseech you to vanquish Athena and add new victories to your repertoire. The [Spell of the Holy Grail] will be the trump card for this purpose. Till we meet again!"

  Bidding farewell, the blonde witch disappeared.

  As suddenly as she had appeared, she vanished instantly like mist.

  The witch Guinevere had left the excavation site, leaving behind this magic of unknown purpose.

  "What on earth is she planning?"

  "Her goal seemed to be transmitting knowledge to Godou-san..."

  Yuri came to Godou's side as he puzzled over what happened.

  "Do you feel a headache or some kind of mental instability?"

  "Nothing, I don't feel especially different."

  Godou assured Yuri who was worried.

  In truth, a Campione's magic resistance and vitality were extraordinary. Extremely resilient. Disregarding the authorities of gods and devil kings, the chances of receiving serious injuries from enemy magic was exceptionally low.

  Indeed, Divine An
cestors did not have magical power on par with Campiones.

  Godou understood concretely with his own body. However, Yuri was watching him with sorrowful eyes.

  "What's wrong, Mariya? I'm completely fine."

  "No... The witch was very right. Godou-san really does have too many openings, it is slightly disappointing..."

  Yuri spoke with great worry.

  "D-Disappointing? Why?"

  "Even if she was not an ordinary person, for a female to steal your lips in the first encounter, it is certainly extraordinary. Godou-san must be deliberately opening yourself up to those kinds of advances..."

  Yuri's appearance displayed a kind of dream-like beauty as she mournfully voiced her concerns in a soft voice.

  The mood was completely like a disheartened wife complaining about a husband who frequently spends the night with a lover instead of returning home...

  Was this the feeling commonly known as lying on a bed of nails?

  Godou found it impossible to bear. In the past he might have felt less of a burden when sternly reproached by her. But as their relationship deepened, the sense of guilty conscience seemed to be weighing heavier—

  Furthermore, even Liliana was joining in the fray.

  "I see now. Precisely due to the existence of such openings, anyone skillful enough can take advantage of them and intrude successfully. Mariya Yuri's diatribe has substantial implications."

  "—!?"

  The exceptionally loyal knight was now glaring at Godou with eyes of reproach.

  "In addition, the incident just now has reminded me of something else. What did you do last night when you were alone with Seishuuin Ena? No, I have no intention of reproach. Nevertheless, even as the housekeeper I did not receive any report afterwards... I believe this type of carelessness is related to the 'openings' pointed out just now. If that is the case, then correction is imperative."

  No intention of reproach.

  Liliana said those words as she stared at Godou with eyes of reproach.

  Both the incident just now and last night as well!? It would be best not to make too much of a fuss here.

  Greatly troubled, Godou could not help but signal to Ena with his eyes, hoping for her to lend a helping hand. However, the Hime-Miko of the Sword smiled shyly instead.

  "Hmm. Even though Ena has all sorts of opinions on what happened just now, last night was very fun and enjoyable, spending time with Your Majesty with just the two of us. I can't help it, sorry for not saying anything until now."

  An answer like that. Wasn't that simply pouring oil on the fire?

  Clutching his head in his arms, Godou found unexpected aid.

  Wisely ignoring this pandemonium all this time, Amakasu suddenly picked up a call on his cellphone.

  "...Yes, yes. Finally appeared, eh? The location is Kawasaki... Near Ukishima. Is that right, already fallen to the enemy? Still in motion? Towards Chiba after all? I see. From the Ukishima Interchange towards the Trans-Tokyo Bay Highway tunnel? Hmm, in that case there's not much time left..."

  Godou and the rest fell silent. Amakasu soon finished the call.

  "I regret to bring bad news. Athena has finally appeared in public. Just like last time, she has released all her powers and is heading straight towards this place."

  Thus ended the report.

  Chapter 4 - Petrified Metropolis

  Part 1

  Having bid Kusanagi Godou goodbye last night, Athena had crossed the sea.

  The beauty of the night was being polluted by the presence of streetlights. Gazing at the scenery from the opposite shore, she suddenly had this notion.

  The battle was finally about to begin.

  Conquering enemy cities, setting them ablaze, using them as signal fires to declare war was part of the elegant traditions of the battlefield. Now then, what should be chosen as the sacrifices —

  While Athena waited for early morning to appear before her, humans were slowly spreading throughout the harbor. Moored at this place were massive ships as well as little boats that seemed like they would be blown away by the slightest wind.

  There were castles and towers where the noisy population entered and left. There were also quite a few mansions.

  Of course, there were many human inhabitants. Far exceeding a thousand, easily in the realm of tens of thousands.

  These people were living their lives, crammed in a little corner like that.

  Those boxes with wheels were very conspicuous, running around making noise everywhere.

  Like grains of sands overflowing in a desert. Clumsy tools created for traversing the earth's surface. Using strange artificial rocks to cover the ground, for the sake of their own convenience, these humans constructed roads everywhere as they pleased.

  Athena lamented. All aspects of human beings were completely impossible to understand, what stupidity—

  Like beasts seeking food for survival, only pitiful death awaited those who failed to defeat their enemies. Or plants, growing across the wilderness, enduring wind and rain, absorbing sunlight, stoically accepting all sorts of hardship, suffering, and blessings to survive. Death took its course naturally.

  —That should be the way. One shall release one's authority to bring silence.

  Athena unsealed the [Serpent's Evil Gaze].

  The curse that transformed everything within sight into cold hard stone. The power to bring forth temporary death.

  It had been used slightly in the previous battle against Kusanagi Godou. Now it was time to liberate it completely.

  To the goddess, this was a casual decision akin to a human deciding what to eat for dinner that night. But to the world, the effects were momentous.

  "Hohoho... This shall do. Now, Kusanagi Godou shall finally appreciate one's exalted spirit."

  All sorts of stones began to roll before Athena.

  Stone ships, stone roads, stone towers, stone fortresses.

  There were also many man-made artificial stones that were used as building materials. But thanks to Athena's blessing, all had turned into natural rock.

  Of course, these humans were also—

  Gathering in this harbor, all humans had been turned into stone.

  Even grass and trees were petrified. In short, everything within sight had become stone without exception.

  All the boxes running around had also transformed into stone. With a single glare from the snake goddess, they all stopped instantly, becoming motionless stone boxes.

  Overlooking this silent dominion, Athena was satisfied.

  "Heavens, Earth, Fire, Water. One's immature destined rival. Knowest Athena's valor, thou shalt do well to know Athena's power. Preparest thyself well for one's onslaught and polishest thy sword!"

  With bold declarations, she started walking.

  Everything shall proceed in this manner. Everything turned into stone as one awaited Kusanagi Godou's arrival. That foolish god-slayer should then be able to realize the goddess' will to fight. If he was so set in his foolish ways that he fails to understand, one would have no choice but to give up and simply execute him without bestowing any honor or praise.

  Taking quick light steps, Athena walked forth.

  In the same situation, Lancelot du Lac would have charged straight into the enemy camp in the form of tempestuous lightning.

  But for Athena — that did not befit the style of the queen who once ruled over the ancient divine realm.

  Openly strolling into the enemy's city, displaying valor and might.

  "Preparest thyself, god-slayer. This day shall be the anniversary of thy death!"

  "In short, Athena is recklessly acting as she pleases."

  It was at the Heavenly Reverse Halberd's excavation site near the Kisarazu shore.

  Amakasu had spread out a map, and was explaining the situation.

  "Almost an hour ago, Athena appeared on Kawasaki's reclaimed land and started to petrify things recklessly and arbitrarily. Although that area contains mostly factories and warehouses, nev
ertheless, it's completely lost. Reports say that the harbor and the parks, ships and cars, humans, animals and plants, everything was turned into stone in little more than ten minutes."

  Amakasu sighed at this point.

  "As a divine power after all, the petrification ability doesn't just affect individual objects. Let alone everything within line of sight, even things within several kilometers along the direction of her gaze will all turn into stone. This has surpassed RPG boss level enemies, and is more along the likes of wide-scale map weapons in simulation RPGs."

  Even though it was a frivolous analogy, the wisecrack was not enough to lighten the mood.

  "Next, Athena began moving towards the Ukishima junction, entering the tunnel of the Trans-Tokyo Bay Highway. The tunnel interior and the vehicles have all been petrified."

  Amakasu explained, pointing to the map. Taking the Trans-Tokyo Bay Highway from Kawasaki's Ukishimamachi, it was just a straight road from Kanagawa to Chiba. As expected of Athena, she seemed to have figured out the geography before making her move.

  "Why is this the only thing that she researches seriously..."

  "Even though she is walking here with leisurely strides, she is still a goddess. The speed is abnormal. According to reconnaissance reports, she is moving at 20km/h."

  Amakasu explained further in response to Godou's comment.

  Normal humans with healthy legs generally walked at 5km/h or so. In comparison, it was really fast.

  "The Committee and Kaoru-san have already informed all involved parties. The surroundings have been sealed off, traffic has been restricted, and movement through Haneda Airport has been stopped. The remaining problems are the cars driving along the Trans-Tokyo Bay Highway and the parking area of the Umihotaru artificial island."

  "If that's the case, let's confront her there."

  Godou declared swiftly.

  Everyone — Amakasu, Liliana, Yuri and Ena focused their gaze on Godou.

  "I don't know if it's lucky or what, but it's near the artificial island of Umihotaru which we passed by yesterday. Will that be fine?"

  "Of course. Leave it to me."

  Liliana turned around in response to the last question.

  A place they had been to before. That meant it could be reached by a witch's flight magic. The knight nodded to consent to the suggestion.