by The Hero
"To not use your other name casually.... You did say that, right?"
Even the simplest of words could be turned into words of power, a sacred sword.
The golden secret sword that rend gods.
However, the trump card that was his strongest weapon, to what extend could its potential be reached this time?
His other forms having been sealed, anticipating that the [Sword] would be an exception, this way of thinking was somewhat weak. Yet, he did not care, he would simply go ahead.
"Excuse me, but I will not be able to do that. I'll say this first.... the One who came from the east, the Invincible Sun Heliogabalus - you who possesses many aliases, the name that you conceal is Mithras, the sun god born on winter solstice. That is the other you!"
At that moment, Godou reinforced his resolve, and in one breath, pulled out the [Sword].
Enveloping the surrounding in light, the words from his mouth becoming words of power, and the light spheres that turned golden, it as the weapon used by the [Warrior], the last form of Verethragna - the spell words of the [Sword].
"The hero of light, Mithras. This is the name you have hidden!"
He started with the restrained first sword.
Godou controlled the many lights of the [Sword], and slashed towards Perseus/Mithras. In return for that arrow the day before, he did not hold back at all.
"Hoho - you had concealed such an ability? Hahaha, truly magnificent!"
The Mithras who called himself Perseus moved, at a speed like a white panther.
Instantly jumping back, dodging the sword of light.
"You were originally known only as Perseus - the Man who came from the East, the stranger who had saved the princess Andromeda from the giant serpent, a serpent-slayer and a skilled swordsman... originally you were only thus."
Godou, who had caused Perseus to step back, extended the [Sword].
Countless lights like the stars, illuminated the entire plaza, each and every of those lights weapons to kill Perseus/Mithras.
"Since ancient times, the serpent - and the dragon, the heroes that fought these were many, and you were one of the prime examples. A hero who struck down the serpent and saved the beautiful maiden. What were their reasons for doing battle with the serpents? This was because serpents and dragons which were, by the former rulers of the divine world, the great goddesses of the land - they had reduced them to these forms due to their evil nature."
Now, Godou's mind still had the knowledge of the time when Athena was still a goddess of the land.
If he did not begin to understand from this part, he would not be able to understand the nature of the [Serpent-Slayer]. In the primeval world that these goddesses had been worshipped as the highest of gods, the [Lady] had possessed the most authority. This was knowledge that had been gained from that time when he fought against Athena.
This wisdom was shaped into words of power, into the radiance of the [Sword].
In order to make keen this radiance, Godou continued to chant the words of power.
"The Queens of the divine world struck down those that were known as demonic beasts. The result was the collapse of the world where the goddesses reigned, and with that came the world where warriors with bronze and metal weaponry reigned. With the coming of an age where military strength ruled the countries, and the mission of the heroes of steel like you, was to carve out such a new world of violence!"
The preparations were done, what would the result be like?
In response to Godou's words of power, the light spheres that circled around Perseus began to speed up.
"Hm - Is this something like those flight implements? What strange words of power."
The hero murmured to himself, his interest piqued.
The sword in his hand vanished, and in its place appeared a longbow, along with a quiver on his back, of course, within the quiver were multiple tens of arrows.
"If that's the case, then I shall exchange blows with you by my bow. Come, let us see whose technique reigns supreme!"
In contrast to Perseus who was giving off a manly smile, Godou did not have that kind of allowance.
Desperately chanting the words of power, he gathered his [Sword].
"I am the dragon of injustice, the strongest and the most wicked of butchers! The sword that protects the men and women of righteousness, obey me!"
An infinite amount of light spheres answered Godou, gathering, forming tens of swords.
A golden formation of swords.
The swords were aimed directly at Perseus, surrounding him from all sides.
"In that case, by the sun that rises from the east, grant me strength! Bestow upon me the strength to crush my comrade Verethragna!"
Perseus had also begun chanting his own words of power.
A halo appeared behind him, standing as proof of the Man from the East's identity as the sun god.
That light was a powerful ability that he had gained from Mithras, the god who came from the east that had assimilated into Roman mythology, which was also the origin of the troublesome ability that could seal Verethragna.
Godou made up his mind, and in a single breath, released the golden [Sword].
"Right now, I have borrowed the divine protection of the sun, to fire this one arrow. Young godslayer, a light, when present before another yet whose radiance surpasses its own will lose its splendor, learn this lesson well!"
At the same time, Perseus fired an arrow towards the moon in the sky.
The single arrow soared high into the heavens - and then split into hundreds of lights that bathed the ground, and the [Sword] that was hit by the rain of light dissolved, much like an ice cube beneath a hot summer sun.
".... As I thought, this won't work? That's really a troublesome ability."
Godou griped about his opponent's troublesome power.
How is it? Perseus who had said that to him puffed out his chest. His childishness was overflowing, yet his charm and charisma as a hero did not diminish.
Strong to the point of causing others to click their tongues.
Though his comprehensive capabilities could not be thought of to be higher than Athena's, Godou's affinity against him was comparatively worse than with Athena. As long as he carried the aspect of Mithras, the hero of light, any attack against him was ineffective.
- Even so, Godou did not plan on going down without a fight.
He renewed his assault.
If the opponent's ability was troublesome, then he would just have to seal it first. If that plan did not work, then he would have no chance at victory. At any rate, it was better than hesitating.
In order to revive the [Sword] that had partially disappeared, he continued to chant the words of power.
"The second name that you've hidden - Mithras. The place that this divinity was worshipped, reigning over the center of the world, is the Roman Empire that we all know of. The people of that country worshipped the divinities that were introduced from foreign places, becoming new religions, a broad-minded and perfunctory inclination."
Yes, gods introduced from foreign places.
For example Cybele from Asia Minor, Isis from Egypt, and even Moses.
The early Roman Empire had introduced many different gods from many different places, prophets and beliefs, and then reinforced it with their own adjustments, and the origin divinities had turned into gods which were filled with the style and culture of Rome.
Among those gods, Mithras was included.
"The foreign god Mithras' homeland was Persia, to the east of Rome, and another god that also came from the east, Heliogabalus - the Greek sun god that had its own palace at the end of the east, the god that was called 'Sol' in Rome!"
Continuing to speak out words of power crafted from the origins of the hero, the light of the [Sword] began to intensify again.
Likewise, the halo behind Perseus glowed brighter and brighter.
He raised his longbow once more, nocked an arrow, any further and it would be
a repeat of earlier. However - !
"The [Sun God] that was one and the same as [One who came from the east]. The careless Roman people, unintentionally, had thought of Heliogabalus as Mithras, and then with yet another [The Man from the East] - Perseus, was added into the mix!"
If the power of Mithras could seal Verethragna, then he would have to start from that point.
Even if it meant using the words of power of the [Sword]. If he could not succeed at this, then the outcome would be decided, there was no room for hesitation.
Like professional gamblers who have gone all-in, Godou would decide everything with this.
The overflowing light from the words of power. The [Sword] that had been bestowed upon him by Liliana, expanded significantly.
"The Man from the East - what was hidden beneath this name was, the ancient Romans that had combined the Greek hero Perseus with Heliogabalus, and also the Persian sun god as one entity, only the Romans who had loose and generous religious beliefs, could be capable of performing this drastic move. You are not the hero of the ancient Greeks...! In the Roman Empire that did not have a single unified belief of the gods, you are just an emergent hero god!"
"Fufu, though you have a way with your words, but what should be useful on the battlefield is a weapon of steel!"
Perseus who had been surrounded by a multitude of [Swords] fired an arrow again.
The rings of the [Sun] behind his back flared up brilliantly.
The released arrow turned into a thousand shafts of light that burst forth, and the [Sword] was vanquished immediately. However, at the same time, Godou continued to create new swords.
The target of the [Sword], from Perseus to Mithras - to be narrowed down.
"Why is my power of Verethragna largely ineffective against Mithras? The answer is simple. The god who came from the east Mithras, his origin could be traced back to Mitra - Verethragna's master!"
The secret of the gods that Liliana had told him.
Before the appearance of Verethragna, the previous [Persian Warlord] was the sun god Mitra. Whether it was in Latin or Greek, his name would be read as Mithras.
Guessing what Godou was aiming for, Perseus fired off another arrow.
Though he only saw Perseus firing off one lone arrow, but from this arrow alone, burst forth tens of arrows of light that pierced the [Swords], and what was like the stars of the starry sky disappeared one by one.
However, the [Sword] that were converted from targeting Perseus to Mithras were untouched.
Though the amount was not much, what remained was still about a quarter of the original amount.
"The leader of the ancient east, Mitra, who was your original form, the power with the capability to seal the god Verethragna! That's why firstly, I have to sever that power of the sun!"
The spell words of the [Sword] had almost run out, hence Godou released the remainder in a single breath.
Godou extended his hand towards the precious weapon, and the gathering golden light formed into a giant sword, and the divine sword of gold was created.
"Verethragna, rejecting the rule of the King of the Sun? Don't get ahead of yourself!"
Knowing that he was about to lose that absolute advantage of his, Perseus yelled out in a loud voice.
"Truly you are my sworn enemy, godslayer! ....Hahaha, although I had forgotten about it, I'll take this opportunity to ask you! Godslayer, tell me your name, Perseus will hereby acknowledge you as the man who became my sworn enemy, I will remember it well!"
"My name is Kusanagi Godou! But, I don't think there's a need for you to remember it!"
"No, I have already fully committed it to my memory, now let us continue our battle!"
The hero excitedly shouted his reply to Godou's introduction of his name.
Are the heroes of old all the same as him? If that's the case, I definitely don't want to get to know them better. I'm not Salvatore Doni, to be able to chat and drink beer with people whom I have been slashing away at as enemies an hour earlier. It's regrettable, but I don't have this kind of interest. Realizing the cultural gap between him and the god, Godou tightly gripped a golden sword.
He continued to forge the [Sword] that was meant to rend Mithras.
"Your peak was before the beginning of the third century, the time when Heliogabalus became the Emperor of the Roman Empire, he was a tyrant of extreme decadence. Heliogabalus then impersonated the name of Mithras, threw aside the ancient gods of Rome, and became your highest priest!"[28]
"Correct, Kusanagi Godou! You knew even that!"
While answering, he fired off arrows of light.
Godou moved the [Sword] slightly, waving it and fending them off.
"However he was assassinated by his own guards, ending his rule in merely four years. Even though you were a god worshipped by the Emperor, you could not stand at the summit of the gods. In replacement, the Son of God[29] with the heart of compassion took your place as the target of the religions' worship, conquering the religious world of the Romans!"
313 AD, the legalization of Christianity by the Milan Edict.
It was an opportunity, for the once persecuted Christianity to become the state religion of both the eastern and western Roman Empire. The tables were turned, and they arrogantly branded other religions of divinities as [Paganism], persecuting them, and included amongst these, was of course the Invincible sun god.
- Therefore, these words of power would be the last sword to finish off Mithras.
Godou as though brandishing his sword, threw his weapon towards Perseus. The golden sword flew, like an arrow, straight and true,
Perseus used his longbow to guard against the assault.
However, Godou's sword destroyed the longbow, and the sword of golden light embedded itself in the hero's powerful body.
In the next second, there was an explosion of pure light.
The powerful shockwave sent both Godou and the hero flying through the air.
Part 2
The amount of time the two of them were down for, were a few tens of seconds.
"... To have severed the [Mithras] that is contained within my body? Though the method wasn't magnificent, it was still quite impressive, Kusanagi Godou!"
Exhilarated, the hero picked himself up.
Now, the only name remaining for him was 'Perseus'. Before the damage is recovered, the name of 'Mithras' that was severed by the [Sword] had no meaning.
Seeing the energetic figure before him, Godou surreptitiously nodded his head.
That previous attack was the [Sword] that slew Mithras, and just as he thought, it did no damage against the divinity of Perseus, but that could not be helped, as he could not have asked for a better outcome.
Furthermore, he had been lucky beyond his expectations.
Previously, when he had changed the [Sword]'s target from Apollo to Osiris in his attack, he suffered from an immense fatigue due to that, but this time round he did not feel any of the aftereffects. It was probably because he did not force himself as much as that time, when he forcefully changed the nature of the ability.
- While he was thinking, Perseus started to move.
When he had noticed it, Perseus had appeared right in front of him, and then grabbed his left arm, casually flinging him aside, sending Godou flying.
" - Guha! What ridiculous strength...!"
Godou smashed into a white stone pillar.
Fortunately his head was not the point of impact, but his back was partially embedded into the wall.
In the Piazza Plebiscito which had become a battlefield, this was between two historical buildings, San Francesco di Paola church and the royal palace of Naples.
At the facade of the former, the church, there were many pillars constructed from white stone, and it had thusly become a rather famous sightseeing spot.
Godou had been thrown onto one of the pillars.
.... The impact had been massive. Though he did not have any prior experience, it probably felt like being h
it by a truck.
"Since the olden times, wrestling was never a warrior-only technique, it was also a sport for the masses. Perhaps you might have already known this as well. Come, let us test our skills!"
"No way I'll do it! I'm an exemplar modern person, I didn't have that kind of upbringing!"
Godou retorted instinctively. Perseus should have been referring to mixed martial arts, but there was no way Godou had those kinds of martial arts skills.
While standing up, Godou felt a chilling sensation.
His body was unable to exert its full flexibility, due to the impact to his back region. His body was hurting all over, and Perseus slowly approached.
He had no choice but to fight, and Godou caught sight of a beautiful girl in his field of vision.
While feeling confused about the fight between god and Campione, the masses were watching in a trance-like state. They did not number over a thousand, but it was at least a few hundred.
And standing at the front of the audience was a beautiful silver-haired girl, an expression of anxiety, as though she wanted to call out her magic sword and stand between Godou and the hero.
Godou hurriedly tried to tell her 'it's still too early' through his expression, looking straight at Liliana.
When doing battle with a divinity that possessed many strange and powerful authorities, it would be best not to show your entire hand at once, or the possibility of a complete wipeout would be high.
A more practical way would be to judge the flow of combat, then gradually increasing your combat strength, that would be more efficient.
It was like switching players out in the middle of a soccer or baseball match, Liliana felt rather regretful, and she loosened her tense shoulders, it seems that she had realized his intentions.
"... For I am strongest amongst the strong. Truly, I am one that holds each and every victory. I care not whom challenges me, whether man or devil; I may face all my foes and all my enemies. Regardless, I shall crush all those who wouldst stand in my way!"
Godou recited the words of power.
The sacred hymn of Verethragna that declared of being the strongest and of victory. Visualizing that image. That of the heroic and indomitable, horned divine beast - the incarnation of the [Bull].