by The Hero
She said in a rather indifferent manner, to the Hime-Miko who could not calm down.
As she would someday become the wife of the [King], staying by his side, worrying over this sort of thing was not necessary.
"Is, is that so..."
"Although the person himself has no self-awareness, his true personality is still somewhat haphazard. Conversely, that is why I can say that it's fine if we aren't overprotective of him."
"I can understand what Erica-san is trying to say, but..."
Yuri was very worried, and at this moment Erica had started to feel a slight bit of unease.
"There is a strange throbbing within my heart, as though he was dragged into something dangerous, it is a dark premonition."
Mariya Yuri was a spirit vision user of the strongest disposition.
Among Erica's friends that were of the same age group, Yuri was one of the few that were acknowledged by her to possess talent of equal standing. As for the others, they included Liliana Kranjcar of the [Bronze-Black Cross], and also that young master of the 'Hong Kong Lu House'. Besides these few there were no others.
As a result, this girl's senses and predictions must be taken seriously.
Halfway through the conversation, Erica's phone began to ring.
The [Diavolo Rosso] staring at the electronic display was shocked to see that it was the Great Knight Andrea Rivera, [The King's Butler].
Someone who never ceased to worry about various things, and also one of the few people that Erica felt sympathetic about.
"It's been a while, Sir Andrea. This time, is it good news or bad news that you are bringing?"
"Miss Erica, I don't recall ever bringing you any good news. This time is no exception - around midnight yesterday, a [Heretic God] had manifested in Naples, and coincidentally your master, Kusanagi Godou, was at the scene. Did you know about this?"
"I did not. Around ten plus yesterday night, he was still here with us."
"Then, there is a possibility that he had used some other means of transport other than a boat or plane to cross the seas from Sardinia. He had confronted the god in Naples, and was subsequently defeated. I do not know the exact details of the situation, but his life is not in danger - that wraps up the current status. Actually, that was not the main topic I had wanted to discuss."
"T, then, what is it?"
"Please be on your guard, there is danger lurking just around the corner, near you. I cannot say what exactly, because it is simply too embarrassing. I had not wanted to say this, but I have no other choice...."
"Sir Andrea, are you currently in Naples now?"
"No... I'm at Sardinia. Because of some matters, I had to come here. That is... Mgh! You bastard, you managed to follow me here! Gffgh!?"
Beep... beep... beep... beep....
After hearing some yelling at the end, nothing more could be heard. The call was disconnected.
Andrea Rivera had been attacked by some unknown assailant - it seemed as though he had been struck down. Being one the Great Knights, with strength that rivaled Erica Blandelli, to be defeated this easily!
"... U, um, did something serious happen?"
"A [Heretic God] has manifested in Naples. Our King, for some reason, was there, and engaged it in combat. However, it seems that the worst case scenario had happened..."
Erica replied, to Yuri who had asked out of concern.
And then, Andrea Rivera's warning and defeat. He had said that danger was lurking around the corner.
What on earth was going on?
She needed to gather more information, and come up with the next course of action, and especially find out about Godou's current condition. To be defeated and not be dead, did he use the authority of the [Ram]?
She had to expend all her connections, and obtain information at all costs.
Just as she had started to do so, she realized that her phone did not respond. Was it out of power?
There should have been enough battery, it was strange.
"Ara? Arara? .... What's going on?"
The maid uniform-wearing Arianna Hayama Arialdi walked out of the kitchen.
She should not have known the current situation, and had a look of confusion on her face.
"What is it, Arianna? Is something wrong?"
"About that, Erica-sama, the gas has been cut, and as I was preparing lunch with the stove, the fire had stopped all of a sudden..."
" - Who's the one who turned off the circuit breaker!?"
There was yet another victim, and she rushed into the living room.
With a gorgeous body that surpassed those of sexy celebrities, wearing a thin, silky nightie and gripping a pillow under her arm, she was Lucretia Zola. It looked as if she had been in the middle of her nap.
Her usual laziness had disappeared, and Lucretia seemed a bit agitated.
"How am I supposed to nap in this kind of hot weather if the air-conditioner is turned off! Even the fridge is out of power! I won't be able to enjoy the beer that I had kept there if it's not icy cold! Seriously, my comfortable vacation will be ruined at this rate!"
If Godou were to hear this, he would have made some common sense comments, saying that she was overly self-indulgent.
Erica continued to observe the current occurrences.
She winked at Yuri, and the nodding Hime-Miko picked up the television remote, and pressed a few buttons. There was absolutely no response from the television.
They confirmed that all of their cellphones were not working, and could not be turned on.
Walking outside, they tested Erica's newly bought car.
The engine would not turn on, and neither would the torchlight they kept at the doorway.
It was not merely a simple blackout and a gas leak, it seemed.
"It seems that we would not be able to lead a civilized life in the area around this house. Electronic devices, machines are all non-functional. Yuri, can you feel anything?"
".... Perhaps it is a wide-range phenomenon that has even affected this area, I think. But, I cannot sense what is at the core of this... Could it be possible that a [Heretic God] has manifested nearby?"
Erica frowned, listening to Yuri, who was explaining with a serious expression.
She had to find out who or what was behind this incident, fast. And immediately after, hurry to Kusanagi Godou's side, who was in Naples. Erica sprung into immediate action.
As Erica began to move, on the other side -
In a swimming area of the beach not too far from their villa, a fierce argument was taking place.
"In the first place, you asshole, it doesn't even make sense to be swimming here all the way from the mainland!"
"It's not like I wanted to swim here. I got washed away by the waves, and I don't even know when I managed to arrive. It was such a rare opportunity to be able to play with Godou, it's regrettable that I ended up at the wrong place."
He said, to the person who had been tied up by rope, while opening a small icebox, which contained crushed ice and a dozen cans of beer. Although Italians gave the impression that they liked to drink red wine and similar alcoholic drinks, their consumption of beer was surprisingly high.
He pulled open the tab, and gulped an entire can in one go. Puhaa!
"... Ungh, it feels so great having a can after a swim. Fufufu, fridges don't work at the moment, so these cold drinks are rather valuable now - Andrea, do you want some too?"
"Who the hell wants to drink, you sorry excuse of a human, a piece of breathing industrial garbage! What are you going to do about that incident in Naples!?"
"There shouldn't be any problem with it, nope. Since Godou is already there, then I'll just leave things to him. My job now is to stop those girls from going there to help him - if he can make it out of this grueling ordeal on his own, he'll improve even faster!"
Surrounded by pine trees, it was a small yet beautiful beach.
Enjoying the scenery of the beach, holding a can of cold beer in one hand, bathin
g in the sunlight, and the azure color before your eyes - a marine blue sea that stretched endlessly.
Of course, the one enjoying his much anticipated vacation was a youth, Salvatore Doni.
Part 2
Kusanagi Godou found himself in some unknown space.
This place was nowhere, a place that did not exist on Earth, nor reality.
It was a world of grey. It was grey as far as the eye could see.
However, there was something else in this world of grey.
".... To be able to meet properly like this, it has been quite some time."
There was a girl in front of him.
She looked about fifteen. Well-proportioned features. A slim figure. If one were to compare her with the styles of Lucretia Zola or Erica Blandelli, one might say that she was of the more 'slender' type.
Regardless, she was alluring.
She could be described as beautiful, but also, she had a very cute, doll-like face and figure. Her pink hair was split to the left and right, and was wearing a thin white dress.
With her diminutive stature, she gave off the impression of a child. However, in contrast, she gave off a glamorous feel of a [Lady], more than any other girl that Godou knew.
He did not know who she was initially, but had recalled in an instant. Indeed, she was...
".... Pandora-san, am I right?"
"Still the same old reserved way of addressing me, eh - Even though it'd be fine if you called me 'Mama'..."
Her frivolous manner of speech made it seem as though she had attached a heart-shaped symbol at the end of her sentence.
Having pure Japanese DNA in his body, Godou could not accept that suggestion, so he ignored it for now. His questions began to pile up.
The couple who had given birth to the devil king Campiones, the immortal Epimetheus and his wife, Pandora.
She was the latter, obviously.
"Every meeting of ours seems so surreal, although I'm not sure why, I always forget that we've met, afterwards."
"Hmm, saying things so bluntly, maybe your level isn't high enough?"
With the solemnity of a goddess (tentatively), she said that.
"With continuous purification of the soul, then attaining enlightenment, that is the level you will need to be to remember the things that happen in this space. Those who are able to reach that state, usually don't become godslayers, so I guess it's pretty much impossible."
".... Haa. Then, is this the boundary between life and death?"
Faint, hazy memories floated through his mind. Those must have been information that were taken in before.
Hearing Godou's question, Pandora nodded, smiling. It was such a wide and cheerful smile, the smile of a normal girl that could be found anywhere.
"Correct. The world of idea, as the ancient Greeks would say. For the Persians, 'menog'. As you have already died once, your link with the real world has become thin, which is why you have found your way here."
"Before my death, I should have used the power of the [Ram]..."
"That's correct, your physical body is recovering smoothly now. In actual fact, before you revived, you had surely died once, you know. Didn't you notice?"
"Maybe. But I'm starting to doubt that's the case.... "
If it were possible, Godou would have liked to never remember that kind of information, murmuring to himself.
Is that so? Am I going to resurrect after I die? What a haphazard body I have.
"Isn't it fine? It was because of that that you were able to come to this realm and meet me. Although I can materialize in the physical world, it's really troublesome to return to this place. Which brings us to the birth of godslayers! I don't come out unless it's a situation like that, recently."
"Haa.... Then, what's the special occasion"
Although she was like that, she was a supporter to Campiones. A patroness, so to speak.
Normally, she would not appear for no special reason.
"I called you out in order to give you a warning. You've encountered the divine attribute of 《Steel》, right?"
"Steel... You mean Perseus?"
"Yep, that. That hero, he is a villain... no, a trickster, so be careful around him! Anyway, because you are rivals with those guys of 《Steel》, losing to them is a definitely no-no!"
"Is your warning just that?"
If you could win just because someone told you not to lose, then life wouldn't be so full of hardships. Looking at Godou who was scratching his head, Pandora shook her head.
"No, that's not it. Leaving aside the other godslayers, because you were born at the ends of the east, I'm specially telling you this. On the island where Godō[16] lives, sleeps the strongest 《Steel》, so you have to be careful, for the time being. Understand?"
"Strongest?"
"Yes, the strongest. Although the hero you are fighting now is also strong, that person is even stronger."
".... Why would that kind of person be in Japan?"
"Because, that is the end of the east - beyond that lies only sea, in other words. There are many things that have been swept there, heaped up there... perhaps it might be fine, seeing as that has already been sleeping for so long."
"Regarding that, could you please elaborate further?"
"Sorry, no can do. We stand at the side of the gods, after all, so I can't tell you any more than that. This is the pact that we have with this world, rules that we absolutely have to abide by.... Furthermore, whatever I say here, won't you forget once you return? Even if I do elaborate, it won't be of any use."
"Now that you mention it, that's true..."
Godou replied in a soft voice. Her words did, after all, remain in this realm of unconsciousness.
Perhaps the sixth sense and instincts of the Campiones that Godou had, were the information that she had relayed from this realm.
"Be careful. That person, is really vulgar, an enemy of women, unfit for the title of 'hero'! If you end up having to fight him again, you definitely cannot lose! You must give him a thorough thrashing!"
As I thought, this wasn't a warning.
This was more like when the sports-minded seniors were emphasizing 'you must definitely win' to their juniors when playing against a rival school, for example. That kind of message was conveyed. Having that kind of feeling, Godou sighed deeply, as he returned to the real world.
The awakened Godou raised his upper body.
He was on a bed. Though the room was small, it was kept very clean. Is it a guest room? As there weren't many daily necessities that could be seen, it felt like this room was rarely used.
Beside the bed, there was a familiar girl. Though, it was not the pretty girl who had reddish golden hair.
She was just as beautiful, though, the fairy-like, silver haired knight.
"Wh, what time is it now?"
"Ri, right now, it is almost noon."
"Then, where are we?"
"This is the house of Diana Milito. My companion who stays in Naples. In order to take care of you, I borrowed her guest room."
Liliana Kranjcar - answered the questions that Godou had asked the moment he awoke. It must have been about one o'clock, past midnight when he was defeated by Perseus. Has he slept for half a day?
Strange.... Godou tilted his head.
Verethragna's seventh form, the [Ram]. This power allowed him to avoid dea- no, resurrect him from death. However, because it was not activated automatically, it would be meaningless if he was killed instantly.
And, he would be in a sleeping state for a certain period of time, until he was fully recovered.
However, the time that he slept this time was the longest by far, it seemed as though he had the memory of entering the dream world, could it be because of that? Even so, it seems that he had gotten used to death...
To him, who had naturally accepted the cycle of death and resurrection, he felt somewhat sad for himself.
" - Kusanagi Godou!"
His name was suddenly shouted.
/> Turning around, he could see big drops of tears in Liliana's eyes, and she had a complicated expression on her face.
"I, is your body still hurt? Last night, after being struck down by Perseus, even your breathing had stopped, I don't even know when you had started getting better...."
"Ah, sorry about that. Because of various reasons, I could manage to survive..."
I see. From the angle of someone who did not know the reason behind it, it would have seemed like a miracle.
As he was reflecting on this, Godou gave a simple explanation of his resurrection. He wasn't sure if she had heard the details of his unreliable power, but Liliana's tears had begun to fall.
.... She's crying? This stout-hearted girl? With such an unexpected development, Godou shrunk back in fear.
"I, if you can resurrect yourself, then please tell us first before you go and die... Do you have any idea how worried I was!"
"S, sorry. There just wasn't any time for me to explain."
Godou could only lower his head in the face of the crying and angry Liliana. He had lost. He honestly did not think she would start crying.
"Knowing how to manage your time is also part of the abilities of a King! B-but, I'm really relieved. That you have safely returned... I'm truly sorry. It is because of my failure that things had turned out like that!"
Liliana who had ceased to be angry was crying and apologizing.
His opinion of her changed yet again, because she looked like a doll, he did not think that she was someone who revealed her emotions. In reality, she was really an emotional girl.
She had been seriously anxious and angry, and her emotions were clearly displayed on her face.
"Well, since I managed to survive, isn't it a happy ending? .... Because, you didn't really fail or anything. It was because I am too weak that I lost to Perseus."
Hearing Godou say that, Liliana immediately raised her face, which was wet with tears.