Campione 03

by Tale of the Beginning

  His smiling face was the same as before, but somehow it gave off a more adult feeling.

  —Wait a minute. What did this guy just say?

  "Hey, you just said something strange. Something about education and priests."

  "Payest no heed, I was just talking to myself. Rather, thou shouldst thank destiny for letting us meet once again. Our fates seem to be deeply intertwined."

  No, this was absolutely not the result of destiny but human intent.

  The reason they came was because Kusanagi Godou and Erica Blandelli had expected to meet the youth here.

  However, why did he not have the courage to speak out about this?

  Sensing his hesitation in this affair, Godou found a different feeling was surfacing, one unlike the mutual feelings he shared with the youth when they first met.

  Crash! At this time, the crash of thunder sounded.

  Lightning was striking nearby? Godou and the youth looked up and surveyed the surroundings.

  "—Erica!"

  Several flashes of lightning could be seen descending, while Erica was jumping left and right to evade them.

  Seeing this scene unfold, Godou could not help crying out.

  If this continued, wouldn't she be fried to death by lightning in one hit? Despite the horrific situation, Erica's running silhouette still carried such righteous poise.

  The giant [Goat] had begun flying close to the surface at some point.

  Gliding over the buildings pursuing the beautiful blonde girl, the direction Erica was headed was the foot of the mountains outside of town.

  Moving rapidly between roofs, Erica ran like an arrow.

  She was probably doing this to prevent creating more victims in Dorgali.

  However, was it really safe for her to run over wide open spaces without any cover?

  Forgetting their disputes over the past few days, Godou was now consumed with worry for Erica's safety.

  "What is this, that girl came as well. Looketh like our fates are very intertwined too."

  Under such conditions, the youth still maintained his leisurely airs.

  "Yes, a lot has happened and I am currently travelling with her. Anyway, if this continues it might get tragic. I am going to chase after her! What are you going to do!?"

  "Thou oughtst give up. Even if thou goest over, thou wilt not be of any use."

  The youth calmly advised Godou who had exclaimed recklessly without thought.

  Godou only shook his head strongly, refuting with determination.

  "Even so, I cannot watch and do nothing!"

  Erica was definitely an annoying woman.

  Every time she spoke, it was mostly displeasing complaints. Treating others with friendly passion, but always mocking him mercilessly when she spoke to him, as well as being willful, self-centered, even so...

  She wasn't someone so hated that he could abandon her at a time of need.

  Godou ran in the same direction as her, determined.

  Though she was very annoying in many areas, it is a fact that she was now fighting alone, taking on a god as her opponent. Pretending not to see and ignoring her need for assistance—impossible.

  Of course, Godou knew this was stupid and impulsive, but even so.

  "Thou art truly a fool. Though thou art a fool, that girl is not much better, fighting alone is proof of that. There are clearly simpler ways to escape, but she chooseth such a difficult one."

  The youth was surprised.

  "And I, observing, somehow cannot watch her perish without aid, how vexing!"

  Come to think of it, didn't this youth also possess incredible powers?

  Godou thought back to when they parted ways at Cagliari, when he experienced the youth's unbelievable power of domination—was that also magic? Or powerful hypnosis?

  If that kind of power was used again, it would be problematic. As Godou tried to retreat, the youth smiled.

  A classic and quaint smile.

  With a kind of fleeting essence, it was a smile like mist.

  At this time Godou noticed, the reason why he felt a dissonance when they met again, was here.

  The youth was more unnatural than before, compared to a living human, it felt more like facing an intricately crafted Buddha statue. An indescribable sense of dissonance.

  "Restest assured, though ye are all fools, but foolish children are very adorable. I shall not stop thee, in fact I will grant thee power—so, takest out that object thou hidest."

  Suddenly the youth held out his hand.

  "W-What am I hiding?"

  "Is that not so? When I first talked to thee at the pier, its taste attracted me. I can feel that thing's taste is even more intense than last time. Makest haste, openest that bundle."

  "That stone tablet!"

  The youth's gaze was focused on Godou's backpack, and he finally understood.

  Godou hurriedly took out the stone tablet—[Secret Tome of Prometheus].

  "Yes, no mistake, this hidest ancient wisdom—never would I think such a specimen still lay hidden in the mortal realm. With this, even in my current state, I can resolve the matter."

  The ancient stone tablet whose surface depicted an imprisoned man in a childish drawing.

  The youth narrowed his eyes with interest, looking at the picture.

  "Oh, the punished Titan... Sun... Fire... Foolish commoners... Salvation. I see, this carriest the power of [Theft]! Haha, the [Deceiver] Prometheus! Deceiving the gods, the hero thief who led the humans—thou art the presence I felt at the pier that time!"

  Hearing the joyful laughter, Godou noticed something.

  He hadn't told him the name [Secret Tome of Prometheus], but why was the youth able to call out its name? Could he really be a supernatural existence?

  "...Like Erica and the rest, are you a mage?"

  "No, I am completely different from them, but currently still incomplete. As long as I cannot recall my name, I will continue to be incomplete. However, it recently dawned upon me, perhaps staying in this state might not be too bad after all."

  While smiling wryly, the youth was caressing the [Secret Tome of Prometheus].

  "Hath someone used this stone tablet before? Within this thing, resides the stolen power of some deity."

  "Stolen?"

  "Yes, did I not say the power of [Theft]? This piece of stone possesseth the characteristic of stealing a god's authority, and then storing it within it... However, if the target was a powerful deity, most likely only a portion of power will be taken. This oughtst to come in handy, very interesting."

  Holding the stone tablet, the youth pointed at the hills a couple hundred meters away.

  In that direction were Erica and the pursuing [Goat].

  "Then I shall vanquish the monster—boy, thou mayst accompany me!"

  It was already quite far away from the streets of Dorgali.

  In the heavy rain, Erica had arrived at the foot of the mountain where the green woods and the dried out white rocks lay.

  Nearby were several trees, but it was essentially a wide open stone quarry.

  Running here, Erica finally stopped. Looking at the direction of the streets, the [Goat] looked leisurely, but it was actually charging here at great speed.

  Then, what should she do next? Erica began to search for ideas.

  The best solution was probably to use an illusory spell to hide, directly tricking the eyes of the divine beast.

  But it would be best to stall for more time, if she were to disappear from its sights, it was likely the [Goat] would immediately turn back to destroy the town.

  "...About fifteen minutes, probably could stall for that duration?"

  Breathing irregularly from anxiety, Erica murmured to herself.

  Exhausting her mind and her body from the divine beast's pursuit, Erica made estimates based on her remaining battle ability.

  Hopefully, it would be best if people could finish evacuating during this bit of time.

  To stall for even longer, Erica
—no, perhaps there was no one who could achieve that feat, it was up to the mercy of the heavens.

  Calmly counting her options, Erica looked up to the [Goat] with eyes of great battle spirit.

  In that instant, she found something unexpected.

  —Black lightning.

  Descending from the sky, black lightning struck the massive body of the [Goat].

  Roar!

  The air was filled by painful screams, how could the divine beast be moaning from being struck by its own weapon—lightning?

  At this time, Erica noticed that the black lightning descending upon the [Goat] was a different existence.

  Like a curse materialized, it was extremely similar in nature to Erica's own Golgotha spell words.

  Materializing a consciousness full of hate and regret, forming a black curse that brought disaster to its surroundings.

  Even without the disposition of a spirit vision user, Erica could easily recognize that the black lightning's curse was very intense. But where did such a curse come from?

  —Could the second deity have made its appearance?

  After being struck countless times by the black lightning, the [Goat] finally crashed down from the sky, making Erica's nerves tense.

  Immediately after leaving Dorgali's streets, the youth had pointed the [Secret Tome of Prometheus] at the sky.

  And then, from black clouds appeared several black streaks of lightning that struck the [Goat]. Every time it was hit by the flash of lightning, the flying monster gave off cries of pain. Struck by lightning, the [Goat] was in great pain.

  Subsequently, bathed in uncountable lightning, the [Goat] fell to the ground.

  Suddenly falling into the empty rocky field outside the streets, its gigantic body was convulsing. Godou's eyes widened at the sight of the unexpected downfall of the monster.

  "This is nothing, the monsters were never as strong as their appearance suggested. Of course, from the perspective of mortal humans, they are perhaps the greatest threat. However, this is just an unstable creation split from a deity's authority—Simply by applying a little divine power, they will fall like that."

  "T-Though I don't really understand, you're saying that it looks big, but it's actually quite weak?"

  "Yes, not a bad explanation, thou shouldst be praised... However, this victory was thanks to this piece of stone, carrying the curse of some earth god, it came in handy."

  Casually watching the [Goat] lying on the ground, the youth casually conversed with Godou.

  Standing beside the bragging friend whose true qualities were gradually being revealed, Godou felt increasingly puzzled.

  The description of splitting out from a god was exactly the same as Lucretia Zola's—'the god of the golden sword was shattered into several gigantic monsters.'

  This youth clearly knew more about the situation than Erica, the one called a genius prodigy by Lucretia Zola. Who on earth was he?

  "Godou, you are in cahoots with this guy after all!?"

  An elegant voice of accusation suddenly sounded out.

  The owner of the voice was Erica of course. She had most likely witnessed the fall of the [Goat] and had hurried over.

  Though wet from the rain and her body covered with mud, her splendor could not be suppressed. Or rather, it could be said that placed in such an extreme state, her beauty was even more emphasized.

  "It's not like that, we just met by chance in town... Didn't you also say we were likely to meet him?"

  Godou answered with reservation.

  Of course, compared to Erica's harsh attitude, Godou's preference for the youth remained unchanged—but every time he thought of the youth's unknown origins, his doubts increased.

  Could it be... no, it must be like that.

  "...Hey, the one who defeated that divine beast was you, right?"

  Wary due to Godou's words, Erica watched the youth with sinister eyes.

  She also noticed the [Secret Tome of Prometheus] held in the youth's hand.

  "Yes, thanks to this arcane stone of [Theft], the monster was defeated."

  "To have deciphered the power possessed by this grimoire—in other words, could you be a spirit vision user? This is impossible without the highest grade of spirit vision."

  "Hoho, askest not my identity, my name is currently sealed."

  Faced with Erica's queries, the youth's unfazed attitude remained unchanged.

  "By the way, there is something I must tell ye, make haste and depart—a second one will be here soon. A very ferocious and violent fellow, it would be best not to approach it."

  "A second one?"

  Hearing the warning, Godou frowned.

  Squawk!

  The howl of a strange bird came forth. What was this sound? Godou and Erica looked up in the air simultaneously. Who knows how many times they have experienced this sense of fear today?

  —This time it was a golden [Raptor].

  Gliding on its gigantic wings in the vast overcast skies, a bird of prey possessing golden feathers.

  Come to think of it, Lucretia had also mentioned a hawk born from the sword god, however, this probably wasn't a hawk, Godou felt it was more like an eagle.

  The best description was probably still a [Raptor].

  Its wingspan from tip to tip, measured about fifty or sixty meters.

  Flapping its wings powerfully in the Dorgali skies, the giant bird of prey was circling ferociously, the name of raptor was rather fitting.

  "—Isn't that dangerous?"

  Every time the [Raptor] flapped its wings in the air, a vortex of wind was created as it turned.

  Strong wind became a cyclone, and then a gale, and further strengthened to become a tornado—in an extremely short period of time, the wind from the flapping of the wings has created a tornado that were now attacking the streets.

  All sorts of objects, large and small, were being blown high into the air.

  If such strong tornados were produced in the center of the streets, the massive destruction caused would completely dwarf the [Goat]'s lightning.

  Just as Godou felt despair, Erica questioned the youth.

  "...Did you call the bird too?"

  "Wrong, girl, I did not call them. It is in search of me, that they came."

  Showing a flawless smile, the youth answered.

  Godou felt troubled by his casual demeanor even at such a time of crisis, but was unable to tear his gaze from the youth's handsome features. Unbelievably, he was being attracted and could not help listening to him.

  ...This was not right, it cannot continue.

  "I see... Then you—could you be..."

  "Hoho, sayest it not out loud. It is better that way. So, boy and little lady, ye make haste and leave. Though heartless to put it this way, the town is doomed, only destruction awaits."

  The youth pressed the tip of his index finger on his lips.

  As if hoping Erica would be quiet, but Godou ignored it, and faced the handsome youth:

  "Wait a minute, it can't be confirmed that it will be destroyed, right?"

  "It is certain, the power stored in the stone of Prometheus has been exhausted just now. There is no other way to drive the monster away. If thou cannot understand that, then thou can only be described as foolish."

  "I understand, but I can't accept it!"

  Impulsively, Godou yelled out.

  Just now when he chased after Erica, he had felt the same way. Even if it was impossibly difficult, he had to face things directly.

  Even now, Godou did not want to run, or abandon the sight before him.

  Like a headstrong child, Godou realized it. But thinking of the tragedy brought by the tornado, imagining Erica struggling against the monster alone, Godou would feel greatly unsettled, so he had to indulge in his stubbornness—

  "If this were ancient times, I would bestow my protection upon thee, welcoming thee as my warrior, sending thee forth to the battlefield—"

  Faced with an ignorant child's willfulness, one coul
d only appease him as much as possible.

  With an expression like a father, the youth nodded his head.

  "Now that it is said, boy, thou also complained the same way just now. Ignoring the wisdom of survival for the weak—appeasing the powerful and bowing down to the strong. Thou art truly hopeless."

  Hmph. The youth lightly sighed sadly.

  "Perhaps this will be the last time I assist thee with thy foolishness. Once those two beasts are vanquished, I can no longer play around leisurely. Truly, to lose my time of rest for this kind of brat, what a shame!"

  "...? What are you talking about?"

  Completely unable to understand the youth's words, Godou questioned.

  What on earth was he saying? But he didn't answer, and only threw the [Secret Tome of Prometheus] over.

  Godou frantically caught it.

  "Holdest it. Perhaps this piece of stone will be needed another time."

  "Eh?"

  "Boy, promisest me. When the time cometh, usest that for the world."

  Leaving behind those words, the youth suddenly ran.

  Towards the streets of Dorgali—the direction where the tornado was spawned by the circling [Raptor].

  "This is likely the goodbye of a lifetime. Fare thee well!"

  Godou wanted to run after him, but was instantly distanced.

  Like the wind. The youth was running with speed like the wind, and instantly disappeared.

  "That guy, he already said the enemy was dangerous, what could he be trying to do now?"

  Muttering to himself as he ran, Godou suddenly found a gust of wind blowing around his surroundings.

  The gust of wind strengthened, and blew towards the Dorgali sky where the [Raptor] was flying.

  "Godou, be careful! It's coming!"

  "Coming? What!?"

  Warned by Erica who had caught up, Godou snarled angrily in response.

  "The second deity appearing in Cagliari! The wind god that defeated the monster, no, the war god possessing the incarnation of wind!"

  At this time, the other gust of wind had become a vortex, and the second tornado was formed.

  The strong wind blowing outside Dorgali's streets became a vortex.

  Before this sight, the [Raptor] stopped circling. Suddenly, the tornado in the streets vanished.

  The giant bird immediately charged at the remaining tornado.