Using the flashlight to illuminate the ground near his feet, Godou advanced along the underground passage as quickly as he could.
Sardinia had a Mediterranean climate, so the air was basically quite dry. However, the air flowing underground was very humid. Could there be some kind of pool?
"Godou! Why did you follow me?"
After walking for a bit, a sudden voice came from in front.
Erica was staring with eyes as sharp as a sword, so it seems like Godou caught up to her without issue.
"You forgot that, the thing called Prometheus whatever."
"By the way... Since I still don't know how to use it, I forgot all about it. Rather than this unreliable tool, I believe it's more practical to rely on my own techniques."
Godou's improvised excuse, was immediately refuted by her.
I see, so that's why Lucretia was worried about her.
"The one who said there's a god here, wasn't that you? Is it fine to just go in directly?"
"Even if it's a [Heretic God], such a thing as eating humans on sight—should be very rare. Unlike those divine beasts, they don't go around causing random destruction, so the danger isn't as high. I'm just going to slip in to investigate a bit and then come back. You don't have to worry."
"That's not how it goes, worrying is human nature..."
Hearing Erica's reply, Godou suddenly felt taken aback by his sudden decision to follow and disregard his own safety.
She did not say it was completely safe, but from her judgment, danger was not that high, so willing to bear that risk, she decided to enter this dangerous place alone.
Perhaps fully confident in her talent and skills, even though a little reckless, she believes she can handle things herself. From her actions so far, when the time comes to retreat, she will calmly retreat...
"Besides, you're the unbelievable one. An ordinary boy with clearly no combat ability, daring to enter this place. It is enough for you to carry the luggage obediently. Please don't make such decisions on your own!"
"Yes, well... Perhaps it's because of that."
"Ah, what?"
"...Don't look at me like that. I am a man after all. Even if you tell me not to follow because it's dangerous, I can't agree obediently. How can I hide in a safe place and let a girl do something so dangerous alone. Perhaps it's a man's principles, I believe that's why I insist."
Ever since he came to this island, Godou has been frustrated by his impotence.
Erica was the genius witch with the title of knight.
Even someone as amazing as her had enemies that were deemed impossible to overcome... heretic gods.
The handsome youth who possessed incredible power and claimed amnesia.
In the midst of these people, Godou was only a minor side character. A role whose absence or presence was irrelevant. A powerless person without any influence over the final outcome of the entire incident.
Even so, when the status of the youth familiar to him was unknown, Godou wanted to search for him.
For the people who suffered from the tyranny of the gods, Godou wanted to offer his own efforts.
Seeing a girl fight alone by herself, he cannot back down. Without forcing himself too much, he had to protect her.
Spurred by these feelings and principles, Godou had come this far.
He also realized it was unbelievable, but stopping himself was a difficult thing, or perhaps, completely impossible.
"You are an idiot. A completely hopeless idiot—you seemed a little smart on first glance, but how can you be this stupid? I am totally speechless."
Faced with Erica's mockery, Godou did not retort but simply continued:
"Also, if the sword god appears—perhaps that guy will also appear? So I want to come along to find out what happened to him. If I don't confirm it with my own eyes, I will not return to Japan."
"Is this also part of a man's principles? What an idiot."
Just as you say. Faced with Godou's confession, Erica could not help but sigh deeply.
"Fine, whether the child or the sword god, if I'm with you, it will be safer for me. That child has fancied you..."
"Fancied me?"
"Don't mind me, I'm just talking to myself—fine, even if I send you back right now, you're going to return? Then follow me! But please don't get in my way!"
"Sorry, I've made trouble for you."
"Really! Let me declare beforehand, no matter what happens to you, I won't be responsible!"
The exasperated Erica began to grumble.
"Really! A man's principles whatever, just like that Genaro... I hate those kinds of ideals! I forbid you to mention them a second time!"
"Who is that? Sounds like someone I could get along with."
"My colleague, a Great Knight of the Copper Black Cross... Probably the one currently closest to achieving the title of [Diavolo Rosso]. The reason why I came to this island, was to prevent that honor from falling in the hands of that unrefined man!"
Having spoken in hateful tones, Erica turned her sharp gaze to Godou.
"To think you would be such a troublesome boy, I am completely surprised. Whoever becomes your future lover or wife will definitely have a life of hardship, oh how I pity her."
"W-Why are you suddenly talking about that kind of thing?"
Every male in the history of the Kusanagi family, had been legendary with the uncanny ability to make women cry broken-hearted.
Godou had always prided himself on the fact that he was not that type of man. Why did this strange witch have to mock him in that particular way?
Anyway, the two of them continued towards the depths of the temple.
The passage stretched longer than imagined, and they had been walking for ten minutes or so. Along the way, there were quite a few forks in the road, but Erica used spells to sense and guide them, so they didn't get lost.
And then, the two of them finally encountered.
A true god. True might. True power personified—a [Heretic God].
"Humans fated to die. So, how long has it been for me, since I last met existences like you, face to face?"
His extremely low voice sounded like a roar from deep underground.
Like thunder, the sound was very thick and heavy.
"This little island was once part of my territory, but has now been taken and devastated by unknown people. Though I have left the earth for a very long time, thinking about what is happening on the surface pains me so... My apologies, to speak such words to you, please regard it as an old fool grumbling to himself."
Flowing in the depths of the subterranean temple was an underground spring.
The stone passage ended abruptly, and soil could be seen everywhere.
For a nation that worshiped [Water] as a sacred existence, this spring was probably the divine body that they made sacrifices to.
He was located on the bank of the spring.
A giant man in his prime, sitting on the altar at the water's edge.
Hair that probably had never been cut, as well as a beard that covered the entire lower half of his face. These gave an extremely strong first impression. He had a very wild appearance, and his height was easily over two meters.
It was the first time for Godou to see such a solid and muscular body.
Usually, with that kind of height, a person would look rather thin, but he was different. Given those massive bulging muscles, simply looking at him felt very oppressive.
His body was so spectacular, strong, and sacred.
Clearly wearing very coarse attire—dirty rags and a leather cuirass on his chest, as well as a tattered cape over his body, but there was a sense of awe and majesty.
Just facing him face to face made one want to bow their head and kneel.
"Letting you see my unsightly body, my apologies. You can understand from the sight, right? I am currently heavily injured, and treating my wounds, waiting for my body to be filled with power once again."
It was as he described.<
br />
Upon those solid pectoral muscles, a golden sword was deeply embedded.
However, the body of the blade was snapped, leaving no hilt behind. What remained was probably two thirds of the original length.
"So, do you know my name? Must I introduce my name and title? Or do you people find the names of ancient kings unimportant? Come, answer me."
The giant was questioning them with a voice carrying laughter.
Open and uninhibited, it was a voice full of humor. However, were he to be displeased, it would not be surprising to find it violently out of control—the voice was like the calm before a storm.
The meaning of his words were not lost, even on an ordinary person like Godou.
Based on the characteristics he had heard previously, the figure before him matched completely.
"Please allow me to speak. Your royal name is Melqart—if I am not mistaken."
The one who answered was Erica.
Afraid. The self-centered, unrelenting beauty was afraid!
Her trembling could be heard from her voice. The slight fear appearing on her beautiful face made Godou certain.
This could not be helped. Next to her, Godou had been shivering all along. It was too terrifying, the giant before them—the [Heretic God] Melqart was too terrifying!
This was a real king.
King of kings, king of gods.
Ruling the sky, possessing the right to destroy the world and all humans, he was the one with absolute authority. For the first time in his life of fifteen years, Godou truly experienced what the word [King] meant.
"Yes! I am Melqart. I also like the name Baal. Baal Hadad also sounds nice. But on this island, I should be called Melqart, hahahahaha!"
The king's laughter shook the underground temple.
This was no metaphor. Like a real earthquake, the ground shook, the walls shook, and so did the ceiling.
Waves were created in the spring water, splashing about, while Godou felt a shock on his skin as if electrified.
"So, little ones who don't even know the manners for a king, let me task you with a mission. Hurry back to the surface, and toil for the revival of the ancient king. Tell the people that Melqart is furious over the insignificant rats that have infested his territory. This little island, I will smash with my very arms and cast into the sea—you will warn the others thus!"
"Cast the island... into the bottom of the sea...?"
The sudden declaration made Godou speechless.
A divine king's decree could not be a lie. Though there was no evidence, Godou believed so.
"Correct, children who cannot escape the fate of death! When your own toys are covered in mud, surely you will do the same? Yes, wash the dirt away with water. I will use water to cleanse my land of this maggot infestation. Understood?"
I don't understand. How can I understand such twisted logic?
However, against the voice of the god declaring divine punishment, Godou was unable to object and could only tremble on the side.
Erica beside him was the same, though her expression was dark, she dared not retort against the god's outrageous decision, without even a hint of resistance in her eyes. Godou would never expect to see her with such an expression.
Godou was overcome with sadness and pity.
For this proud girl to show such an expression of despair, he did not want to see it!
Godou clenched his teeth, the will to resist showing on his face.
"So—I am currently in the middle of a battle against a troublesome foe. If you little children were able to sneak into this hole, that's not a very good sign."
Melqart laughed lightly.
To call the normal Godou and the witch Erica "little children," he was clearly looking down on them.
Perhaps it was all the same to him, just like compared to the brilliant sun in the sky, a first class star shining in the night was no different from a sixth class star.
"In order to prepare for the duel, I must sleep to recover my wounds. I have also cast a spell to prevent sneak attacks during my slumber, so you two better leave. Understood?"
Melqart laid himself down on a rock.
The action was crude and without thought. Whether this was a cave or out in the wilderness, or on silken bedding, this uninhibited sleeping posture like a savage was probably what he used on all occasions. His fortitude could be seen from this act.
—Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch.
As soon as Melqart fell asleep, Godou and Erica heard strange noises.
Looking downwards at the source of the noise—the two were speechless.
Before they knew it, swarms of locusts had appeared on the stony ground beneath their feet. These tiny pests arrived in great numbers. Probably hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, no, much more than that. An uncountable number of locusts were restless and ready to move.
Disgust and fear instinctively filled Godou's heart.
This was a completely different kind of terror compared to Melqart's tyranny.
The locusts were approaching, jumping all around, and some were even spreading their wings to fly in the air.
Godou and Erica looked at each other simultaneously.
Exchanging glances, nothing needed to be said. Their minds thought alike, let's get out of here quickly from the way we came.
Paying attention to their surroundings, they dashed towards the exit as fast as they could.
In order not to be caught by the army of locusts pursuing them, the two ran at full speed without letting down their guard for a single moment, escaping hand in hand.
Part 3
Finally escaped from the underground temple, the two were panting heavily.
Looking back at the triangular entrance, several dozens of locusts were crawling and jumping about, or just lying there.
"W-What was that? S-So disgusting..."
"L-Locusts are the servants of Melqart. He is the god of storms, and also the god of the sea, god of the sun, and the god ruling over harvests and extinguished life... C-Consuming crops and causing widespread devastation to the land, locusts are also a symbol of his authority."
"S-Something like that, i-isn't that more like a demon's messenger!"
"M-Most demons used ancient gods like Baal or Melqart as their prototypes. R-Religions that developed later, demoted them to demons and passed along those stories, producing the current result... Y-You know? The demon, Lord of the Flies is based on Baal's other name, Beelzebub..."
Though they were still panting, Godou and Erica continued to converse.
For a great period of time, both of them did not even have the strength to stand, and simply let time pass.
The Nuraghe sa Bastia.
The forest surrounding these ruins.
The constellations of Italian spring twinkled quietly in the night sky.
During this time, the escaped genius witch and the former baseball youth met with setback, the two of them were leaning back to back, without seeing each other's face, tightly together.
Their heavy breathing had returned to normal, but even so, due to the sweat, the night breeze felt chilly and the two of them did not stand up.
"...That was amazing, I think I definitely cannot resist that god."
"...Same here, seeing those divine beasts have made me lower my guard. The [Heretic Gods] who stand at the true summit, I never expected such presence."
Through their backs pressed together, Godou could feel Erica's warmth.
Most likely she could also feel Godou's warmth the same way.
...In the end, the two of them were too naive. A true [Heretic God], the dominating power of the highest ranked gods, neither of them understood until now!
The presence and oppressiveness which utterly shattered a man's principles and a genius witch's pride.
Simply facing him caused all resistance to be blown away. Afterwards Godou thought, to have faced him without bursting into tears was already very brave.
"...So, what
are you planning next, are you still going to investigate?"
"...What are you joking! Facing that kind of thing is impossible! If Melqart was in a bad mood, we surely would not have survived!"
Finally breathing smoothly, Godou turned his body around towards Erica.
But she replied to Godou anxiously, then remained silent as if displeased.
After that, the two of them sat on the ground for another ten minutes or so, simply staring at nothing.
The two were silent, and tried to avoid eye contact.
Particularly Erica, she hid her face behind her knees, clearly trying to ignore Godou.
This was the result of two people taking an optimistic attitude based on their capability and principles. Unworthy humans who underestimated a god, there were no grounds for complaint about the result.
All in all, it was very shocking.
Godou thought back to the embarrassment just now, and felt troubled.
Even though he prided in his competitive personality, he simply ran away just now. Clearly he dared to face the divine beasts at Dorgali despite his lack of power, but this time it didn't work.
What Erica had called divine beasts, as well as a true [Heretic God].
The two were on completely different levels. Absolute failure, complete and utter defeat.
Humiliation, impotence, and anger at himself.
Many intense feelings surfaced in his heart.
Even so—Godou renewed his thoughts as he watched the girl before him.
The impact she suffered, in terms of quality and quantity, must be on an entirely different level.
No matter what, Kusanagi Godou was just an ordinary person. No matter how he forced himself, he cannot defeat a god, it was just a setback, that's it.
But Erica was the one called the genius witch.
Even someone as talented as her, when faced with a god, ended up in the same state of terror as a commoner like Godou and ran for her life in panic. The shock she received could not be compared to his.
Godou gazed upon Erica as she wallowed in despair, refusing to look up.
The proud and headstrong girl was now burying her peerlessly magnificent face in her knees.
Godou knew from his experience in the past, battling alongside or against those with genius talent.
Currently, the root of Erica's 'magnificence' —her absolute confidence in her talent, capability and achievements was lost. Encountering such an event, a genius was still just an ordinary human.
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