Campione 12

by Transient Holy Night

  "In reality......whenever I'm by your side I’ve always wanted to do this. However, I'm Kusanagi Godou's knight. These matters are not permitted. That is why——"

  With their faces near each other, Liliana's face playfully rubbed against Godou's face.

  "That is why only now, only during these times are there exceptions. However, you don't mind right? Liliana Kranjcar is the knight who frequently accompanies you, someone who will never leave your side. Starting today, no matter how many times these opportunities arise, I will always——"

  Compared to any random love proclamation, this knight presented a more sincere, a more serious oath.

  Godou denied her the chance to finish speaking by blocking her mouth with a kiss. Liliana boldly opened her mouth and latched on to Godou's entire lips as she took them in.

  Then all of a sudden, Liliana forcefully thrusted in her tongue in search of Godou's tongue.

  "The grand celebration of the winter solstice within the agricultural domain occurs on the day when the night is at its longest. In other words, starting on that day, the days will gradually become longer, gradually approach spring......"

  She gently pecked at Godou's lips and tongue. Licking everywhere, she savored the taste as she spoke. At the same time, a tremendous amount of knowledge rushed into Godou's mind through this contact.

  "As a result, the so-called winter solstice is actually the beginning of the end of winter. It has become the celebratory time for the arrival of spring. In short, another way of putting it would be——"

  "The day of resurrection for the everlasting sun. This is the day commemorating the return of its strength after weakening during the wintertime."

  Liliana's lips squirmed as she replied. Godou also lusted for her lips.

  Their lips intermingled with the two of them seemingly competing for who has the more passionate kiss.

  "Yes. There is also another thing. Saturnus was imprisoned by the main Roman god Jupiter[29]. Due to a life of suppression, Saturnus lost his mind which caused Jupiter to imprison him in the depths of this shrine. There were only seven days during the year where he would set him free. This legend has precisely become the key to Saturnus's connection to corpse of the sun god——!"

  They completed the magical ritual for conferring knowledge through the link between their hearts.

  With this result, they finally achieved what they wanted. Just as the sword that can slice through divinity appeared from Godou's body——.

  Crack! There was a sound like shattered glass.

  It was the collapse of the barrier Liliana constructed, serving as an alarm indicating the intrusion of the Grey One.

  Part 3

  Erica was a specialist in steel-based magic.

  The forged steel transformed into a blade. With the weight it had, it could even be used as a blunt instrument to crush people. If heat were to be added, the blade would dissolve and anything that came into contact with it would all melt into the molten metal solution. Furthermore, ever since ancient times the sturdiness of steel had been utilized in a warrior’s armor.

  By saying she was adept at utilizing steel, it meant that she was also adept at offense and defense.

  On the other side, Ena, who wields the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, heavily favors offense over defense.

  She was basically someone who could scramble all over the place, like a child of nature who possessed the movements of an agile monkey. Similar to how one engages defensively by bunkering down somewhere, she was more suited to shifting around indefinitely, using tireless movements to initiate an assault or guerrilla warfare.

  ——On the ground at Kasai Rinkai Park.

  Erica, who was fighting with the ent demigod, unwittingly displayed fluid synchronicity in combination with Ena's battle style as they fought side-by-side.

  Through the course of battling against the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and divine ancestor Guinevere, she had become exceptionally compatible with the Miko of the Sword when attacking in unison.

  ooooooooaaaaaaAAAAAANNNnnnNNNNN！

  The ent demigod roared and raised its two-pronged weapon.

  From the tip the double prongs, spheres of green light were being emitted. It was the same thing that previously attacked Godou and Liliana in the sky. Once it ruptured, it would generate a shock wave blast.

  Upon seeing dozens of these spheres of light heading towards her, Erica chanted her spell words.

  "By the rank of Legatus Legionis, I hereby command!"

  Following that, she retrieved the Cuore di Leone from the sky.

  Immediately after, the barbed lance that had transformed from the magical lion sword instantly multiplied. Like copying and pasting, the appearance was exactly the same as the lances continuously materialized in the air. It wasn’t just one or two additional lances, there were eighty-one in total.

  "Gather here, the Phalanx! Construct a bed of iron and steel, hold out and persevere!"

  The legion of spears responded to Erica's spell words and began darting around as they moved in an orderly fashion.

  Following that, a nine by nine dense square grid was produced. Erica arranged this grid in front of herself and Ena.

  The spheres of light created by the ent demigod flocked towards them.

  Before the spheres of light arrived in close proximity to Erica and Ena, the lances that were awaiting at that location pierced through all of them, causing them to rupture. The green spheres of light exploded in rapid succession, resulting in violent shockwaves.

  "Guah——!"

  Erica prevented the impact from this attack by implementing protection magic to guard herself and Ena.

  The shockwaves were dispersed from where they were standing as they blocked the attack gracefully. At around the same time, Ena also made her move.

  Lowering her body, which at the same time lowered her center of gravity, she rushed towards the ent demigod.

  With wind-like speeds, she passed through the grid of spears that was created. During this time she did not even slow down one bit as she dashed along the ground like a scurrying wolf.

  Moreover, in one breath she was already in close proximity to the ent's legs!

  There to impede her were the large vines that bore from the ground.

  These vines were eliminated by Ena not too long ago as though she was killing weeds with the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi at the time. They were previously exterminated, however they have all once again been revived.

  The group of vines, like snakes, lunged out in a whip-like attack.

  Ena easily evaded the attack, but in addition to that, she even used the vine as a springboard to gracefully leap out of the way. She exhibited the nimbleness of an acrobatics master.

  However, she only avoided the attack and did not engage in a counterattack.

  As to why, it was because the pitch black divine blade was actually not in the hands of the Miko of the Sword at the moment——.

  "Make haste and manifest upon here the semblance of Chihaya's power of metal destruction!"

  Ena jumped from place to place while chanting spell words.

  Responding to the spell words, the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi that was hovering in the air descended quickly.

  Before charging in, she first tossed the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi into the air, the pitch black divine blade stayed in the air floating, waiting for a chance to attack.

  ooooooooaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAANNNNNNnnnNNNNN！

  Sensing the incoming attack, the ent demigod once again intended on raising his two-pronged weapon.

  However, Erica had already prepared countermeasures to this.

  “Oh hammer of steel, rout thy enemy!”

  Nine of the lances from the lance grid flew up, thrusting towards the two-pronged weapon that was raised. The weapon was pierced, shattered, and penetrated through by the multiple lances. In a split second, it was disposed of.

  Following that, the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi descended towards the ent's head from the
sky like lightning——.

  If one were to describe it, it followed a straight path through the body of the ent demigod. From the head to the throat, then esophagus, all the way through the bum.

  Unable to bear the attack, the thirty meter tall ent body split in half.

  The full force of the blade was like a hatchet cleaving through firewood.

  Even though the opponent was an ent, a divine beast, under normal circumstances that strike would be enough to obtain victory.

  However, after clearly being punctured by the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, the ent's body began to regenerate. The two sliced up halves of the ent once again tightly fastened together like the north and south poles of a magnet.

  Furthermore, the recently assembled ent spat out some sort of object from its mouth-like slit.

  It appeared to be a poisonous fine powder.

  This powder scattered around the ent, resembling yellow sand or the proliferation of pollen.

  Naturally, Erica and Ena instantly leaped away from this.

  "Be careful! This powder gives off a nasty smelling odor. It is probably poisonous!"

  Due to the smell carried by the wind, Ena probably deduced this fact and stated her warning.

  As expected of her extraordinary sense of smell. This child of nature had an acuteness that was incomparable to the norm. Moreover, she chanted her spell words right away.

  "It is by its breath / That autumn's leaves of trees and grass / Are wasted and driven... So they call this mountain wind / The wild one, the destroyer."[30]

  Gusts of powerful winds gathered around Ena's body.

  The miko of the god of storms, Susanoo, was also very adept in manipulating wind-based magic power. The poisonous yellow powder was whisked away by the strong winds and dispersed over the ocean.

  "Under these conditions where our offensive force is unable to overcome the enemy's power of revival, we will have no way of ending this."

  Just as Erica acknowledged the battle's bleak outlook.

  The radiant golden oval located far above them had been deemed by Yuri as the coffin's existence. Hovering around the quaint object in the winter night sky, one could see the familiar-looking ray of light gradually glinting brighter.

  "During December, the festive ritual of the winter solstice would be held in ancient Europe. It was a festival meant to congratulate the harvests of those years and to pray for a bumper harvest in the coming years."

  Whenever Godou softly chanted the spell words for the Sword, there would be blades of the Sword emerging from his surroundings.

  In the center of the vast basement, Godou was under Liliana's watch as he chanted away. Becoming Verethragna's final incarnation, the Warrior, he pulled out the god slaying blade.

  "The winter solstice is a grand festival commemorating the revival of the sun. Within agriculturally rich nations and colonies, it is the ceremonial holiday of winter and spring, a commemorative festival where the people would indulge in raucousness and merriment making."

  'Oh! These rays of light, these spell words, do you plan on elaborating my history!?'

  The voice of the Grey One came from above.

  Following that, the entire basement shook, the ground jolted intensely. If compared to the Richter scale, the level of shaking could be considered above a category five earthquake. Godou lost his balance and fell down.

  However, Liliana promptly rushed over.

  The silver-haired girl put her hand on Godou's back and caught him as he fell. She then helped him get back up.

  "There were many sun gods in ancient Rome. The most representing would be the sun god Sol[31]. There was also Apollo, also known as Apollon in Greece. Arriving from the east is the hero Mithra.”

  Liliana's body was slender and lightweight. Her limbs were like that of an elegant fairy.

  However, during this turbulence, she actually became the crutch steadily supporting Godou.

  Godou thought about the unexpected role reversal of relying on her delicate body while diverting his attention onto his partner.

  Ena, who was still in battle on the surface, wielded the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi——.

  Located far below at Rinkai Park, he called upon the divine blade's strength.

  "You should be one of the aforementioned gods, an ancient Roman sun god who reigns the skies. Before the loss to a certain opponent, in the olden days you were a magnificent radiant god of light."

  Godou briefly mentioned this towards the Grey One.

  He was chanting out the habitually used divinity slicing sword as well as the power of the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi. In the past, he had used this blade during the battle against Athena. Fusing the two swords, these were the spell words of the divinity sealing artifact.

  "It isn't certain which sun god you are. However, having been majestically worshipped during the winter solstice grand festival of the sun, you probably also confer blessings to the Roman citizens."

  'Alas! Desist, Kusanagi Godou!'

  The Grey One had already ceased his begging, instead his words were expressed in a pleading tone.

  'Tearing my soul apart, these spell words are meant to seal my existence! This kind of conduct is truly intolerable!'

  He had never heard a punitive voice like this before coming from the mouth of any god.

  So it's like that. Godou understood. Over 1500 years ago, he had lost his divinity as god. There is the fear that he was the same as those divine ancestors——existences like Guinevere.

  An ascended being who reigns above humanity. However, the kind of power and spirit it possessed was incomparable to a god.

  He was a degraded soul who lost his greatness and strength in the past.

  "The corpse from when you were a sun god transformed into a divine artifact used in the recreation of the winter solstice festival. The divine artifact also serves to revive Saturnus, the god of the grand festival of bountiful harvests. As a result of this, while Saturnus was the god of earth, he was also a servant to a sun god——a slave god in servitude."

  Godou's spell words, which gave rise to the Sword, was in the process of gradually building up.

  Without knowing it, the entire basement was already at its limits. The countless number of golden light rays, which flickered like the glint of treasure, illuminated the insides, extending towards the walls, floor, and ceiling.

  First order of business was to slash apart the vast basement.

  This was to rip apart the divine artifact known as the Crown of Saturnus from the inside, thus sealing it.

  Godou had not ceased chanting as he further weaved his spell words.

  "Saturnus was an imprisoned god. Locked in the abyss of a shrine by the main Roman god Jupiter, only once every year would he be granted freedom for just a week."

  The countless number of swords turned into a vortex of light, slashing the entire basement apart.

  Moreover, the stone material vanished after being cut.

  Since he had already wielded the fused Sword and Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, the divine artifact sealing blade, it was expected to be capable of extinguishing the building.

  "Those seven days are the week of the winter solstice. Even though Saturnus is considered a god of earth, he is also a god with no freedom at all and is only released during the start of the celebratory festival for the revival of the sun. With respect to this aspect, Saturnus has become the people's subordinate sun god!"

  Every time the golden Sword sped off towards sky, the domain of a certain place would be exterminated.

  It took basically around ten seconds for the swords and the blades of light to go from the basement to atop the flight of stairs. Furthermore, it marvelously vanquished the shrine located at the top.

  In addition, even the forever boundless golden wheat field and the red dyed dusk sky perished.

  Having returned to a normal state, Godou and Liliana found themselves already located in the sky. They were standing on the bird shaped emblem rooted in the Kasai Sea.
The two of them firmly stood atop the stone-made bird.

  The ground was no longer shaking. However, Liliana was still supporting Godou's body.

  Furthermore, the one who stood right in front of them was the already familiarized Grey One.

  The royal corpse he was carrying was the ancient sun god wearing golden clothes and a gold mask from back when he was a deity——.

  'Kusanagi Godou! Although I'm already a divine-less god, i still have aspirations to face off against a godslayer! How about it, battle against Saturnus......!'

  "I'm sorry, I no longer wish to accompany you in your mischief."

  Last month Godou had previously fought against Lancelot, the hero god of war.

  Nevertheless, he actually wanted to decline this spirit's request. He wanted to avoid engulfing Tokyo in a crisis at all cost. That was more important than any of his desires.

  After only slightly reminiscencing over this point, he felt his prior impatience boiling within him.

  Once he had confirmed again with himself that he did not want to display the above mentioned leniency towards the culprit for this event, Godou sought out the swords hovering around him.

  It appears there were still over a hundred of those radiant golden spheres of light.

  In one breath, the group of swords shining even brighter than the twinkling stars found everyday in the night sky started to speed up due to Godou's command.

  "I am the strongest, holding all victory in my hands. Man and devil——all enemies, all who harbor enmity will be vanquished!"

  Responding to the holy words of Verethragna, the grid of radiating swords of light endlessly darted around.

  Afterwards, the Grey One along with the corpse of the sun god he was carrying were completely slashed apart, torn into pieces, and finally vanquished.

  The only object that remained intact at their location was the mask that was modeled after a lion.

  At the same time, the stone constructed bird that was previously their foothold was also eliminated.

  Their bodies naturally started to plummet. Godou immediately hollered.

  "Liliana!"

  "Got it!"