"I think His Majesty should now be in the Netherworld, and grampsy isn't going to release him back to the real world."
"The Netherworld? Could it be the Astral Plane—the Boundary of Life and Immortality!?"
"Ah, so it is also called that? I think the Committee members would be more knowledgeable in these areas."
Erica shuddered as she watched the Hime-Miko who casually answered her questions.
One who freely employed a divine artifact that ordinary mortals were unable to use.
One who communicated with supernatural existences living in the Boundary of Life and Immortality.
"It looks like amongst the Hime-Miko, there are quite a few girls possessing extraordinary dispositions."
"Yes. Ena can hear the voice of god, and can borrow god's power slightly. If I explain it this way, I believe Erica-san can understand?"
A user of divine possession! Erica was speechless.
A miko that possessed such a disposition was even rarer than one who had spirit vision. If the Hime-Miko were able to recruit into its ranks someone with such legendary powers, they must be an unimaginably troublesome organization.
Ena seemed to have tired of answering questions and jumped away from the state of pointing their blades at each other.
"Perhaps due to being connected to grampsy, some spirits from that side have filtered over..."
Ena was muttering, and straightened her arm, pointing Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi forward.
This resulted in the sword altering its form.
From a straight sword, it slowly turned into a curved blade.
The originally sacred white light from the blade turned black, and the body of the blade appeared to be burning with black flames—a form that seemed to herald catastrophe.
"Did you know? The ones who brought the technique of forging curved blades to this country were barbarian sword-smiths seen as enemies by the government."
Ena spoke softly.
Like the dark and icy cold wind blowing across execution grounds.
"If the blade is curved, slicing power will be increased. The forging techniques of the Ezo[36] sword-smiths were inherited by the craftsmen of Oshu, and from there actively promoted to the rest of the country... Absorbing the slaughtered barbarian power for its own use, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi also possesses this characteristic."
Holding the jet-black divine sword, Ena's face revealed a frightening smile.
Rather than a miko serving god, it was more like the belligerent face of a ghost of the sword.
"Assimilating the rebellious barbarian power for its own use—the sword of conquest, that is Ena's partner, come let us duel!"
Erica took a deep breath.
She could feel Ena's magical power disappearing from her body.
In order to perform powerful magic or use an authority's killing move, most magi and Campiones will raise their magical power to the maximum. Erica has witnessed it many times already.
But Ena was doing the opposite. Her power and presence was approaching zero—almost as if she no longer existed.
And entering the vessel of the Hime-Miko, was a solemn divine presence.
"So which one is your grampsy, may I ask one more time?"
"Uh? What do you mean by which one?"
Erica asked the surprised Ena once again.
"You just mentioned, right? There are two gods who possess this divine sword, Susanoo and Yamato Takeru. So the grampsy you keep mentioning, which one is he?"
"It's Susanoo! But everyone calls him this unbecoming nickname, the Old One!"
The storm god of conquest who held the attribute of steel.
Protected by that kind of deity, a user of the legendary divine sword would be a formidable foe indeed. Erica anxiously looked at the spot where Godou disappeared.
The jet-black darkness continued to swirl upon the surface of the ground.
It was the deep darkness that swallowed the young Campione that she loved.
At this moment, a rash idea entered her heart, but she believed there was value in taking the challenge. What made the [Diavolo Rosso] steel her determination was that once the darkness disappeared, so will all clues to track him down.
One of Erica's tenets was to avoid, as much as possible, battles she was unlikely to win.
If she were to escape now, she will definitely regret it afterwards. Her decision was made the instant she thought that.
Erica also jumped into the darkness that swallowed Godou.
"Uh, you really did that. Very amazing! But I won't let you escape!"
What on earth is this woman? Erica was speechless.
Seeing her jump in, Ena also followed immediately.
And so, the two girls jumped into the mysterious space that captured the Campione.
Chapter 6 - Encounter in the Netherworld
Part 1
Godou found himself in a mountain at some unknown location.
After being swallowed by the suspicious darkness, he came to find himself in this place.
It was deep in the mountains, with lush greenery.
Heavy was the smell of soil and trees. There was also a small stream flowing beside him.
Were it a sunny day, taking a walk here would have been very comfortable. Regrettably, it was raining with massive droplets splattering all over him.
Howling winds filled the sky and mercilessly stole warmth from his drenched body.
In addition, Godou's bodily condition was not very well at this time.
A strong feeling of nausea, terrible cold, and headache made Godou worry if he had caught a flu.
Though it would have been best to get moving to find shelter from this storm, he did not have the strength. Squatting down for about three minutes and enduring the sense of nausea, he felt much better.
"This feeling is almost like carsickness..."
The headache was still present but was not a problem. Godou got up and looked around. The water in the stream beside him was very turbid and flowing rapidly due to the drainage of the rainwater. From the way the stream ran, this place must be quite remote in the deep mountains.
Godou discovered a little house upstream, and started making his way towards it.
He should first find shelter from the rain. Though a wooden house on the riverbank in such pouring rain did not seem particularly safe, it would still be better than standing outside.
Then again, the safety of Erica and Seishuuin Ena still worried him very much.
While worrying about them, Godou reached the door of the little house.
It resembled a rustic wooden house from some historical drama. A simple glance was sufficient to assert that modern amenities such as electricity, gas, and running water were alien concepts.
The sliding door at the entrance was open, and Godou peered inside.
An old man, who appeared to be the owner, sat cross-legged in front of the stove.
His towering physique would stand over 180cm tall. His coarse kimono exposed a strongly built body that did not match his age and bulging musculature that would put most bodybuilders to shame.
The old man's obstinate expression matched his solid build quite well.
"Kusanagi Godou, please enter. My apologies for suddenly summoning you to this place."
To be named so abruptly.
By this point, Godou knew who he was.
Godou's body, charged full of energy to fight, had already given him the answer—the old man before him was a god.
"My miko made trouble for you, but please endure for a little while longer. I had no choice but to bring you here because that girl said she wanted a duel with the barbaric little lady. After all, they are both female and human, so why don't you let them fight to their hearts' content?"
"...Who are you? And what kind of god are you?"
Hearing the questions, the old man smiled.
Though he appeared to be very strict, he unexpectedly gave off a sense of kindliness and intimacy.
"
I am the god known as Haya Susanoo no Mikoto. You may call me the Old One or simply old man, but do not use grampsy. Having one brat Ena calling me such an idiotic nickname is more than enough."
Jumping into the darkness that Godou disappeared into—
Erica finally reached the end to find herself at an unknown riverside.
The distance across the river was not very wide, but the flow was quite rapid and swimming across would be very difficult. However, the water in this river was beautiful and crystal clear.
It gave off a feeling that could not possibly come from a river in the twenty-three wards of Tokyo.
"This really is the Astral Plane... right? Could I have entered the Boundary of Life and Immortality?"
Erica knelt on the ground panting.
The air was very turbid and felt lacking in oxygen no matter how hard you breathed. Very likely, her body was not yet accustomed to this world.
But it could not be helped.
Moving from the surface world to the Astral Plane was [Plane Walking], a type of ultimate, high-difficulty magic that required drinking a precious potion beforehand.
This was medication to activate spirit capabilities and help the body adapt to this otherworldly realm.
This was a world where spirit ranked higher than flesh, and ectoplasm ranked higher than matter.
Magi who had stepped foot in the Astral Plane were extremely rare, because neither the magical ritual to transfer to another world nor the required potion were easy to obtain.
Though it was her first time here, Erica already discerned the truth of this world and started responding accordingly.
First, she raised the magical power in her body to the limit.
Despite the risk of depleting her magical energy, there was no time to hesitate. After dozens of seconds, her symptoms disappeared, and Erica stood up, her breathing back to normal. Then came a voice.
"Erica-san, you are amazing. Already moving about in the Netherworld."
Seishuuin Ena walked over, holding the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi in her hand.
The Hime-Miko also seemed to be protecting her body in the same way and did not show any signs of suffering.
"You're really annoying, and I was about to catch up to Godou. Could you kindly step aside?"
"If that's the case, you must first defeat Ena by force. Come, we must hurry and fight."
Erica drew Cuore di Leone for she had harbored the same intentions all along.
Then she advanced to attack Ena who was wielding Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi in its jet-black curved blade form.
The magic sword and the divine blade clashed once again.
The moment the two blades met, Cuore di Leone was split into two! With split second decisiveness, Erica promptly jumped to the side and evaded the follow up attack.
"Steel of the lion, the symbol of indestructible authority!"
Responding to Erica's spell words, the broken segment of the magic sword flew through the air and returned.
Then combined and welded back together again.
Cuore di Leone restored itself through its attribute of indestructibility, but Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi's power was also increasing.
Or rather, it was simply retrieving its original power?
"Susanoo—by filling her body with the blade's original user's divine protection, she is able to wield a divine artifact that humans cannot use... To think that such a technique existed!"
Erica exclaimed softly.
Ena's body was inhabited by some unknown divine power. A tiny fraction of Susanoo's divinity—probably around two hundred parts per million—was being lent to her.
Even though the amount of power a human body could contain was this small, its nature was still the power of a god.
Which is why Ena could freely wield Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi using her own will and sword skills.
"Not just grampsy's power, but this Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi is also similar to a demigod. Its spirit flows within me. Susanoo's attribute as the conquering god was also obtained from the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi."
The steel sword symbolizing the conqueror... Since this description was bestowed after he obtained the sword, Susanoo must have acquired his divinity of the conquering god at the same time, Erica deduced.
"Tell me, that grampsy of yours called Susanoo—where is he? Then again, what is he? Could he be a [Heretic God]?"
"According to his own description, he is no longer the same brash and mischievous god in his youth."
Provoked by Ena's laughter, Erica could not help but glare at her. But she was right, were he still a [Heretic God], he would be wandering on earth and causing mass destruction instead. Then what kind of existence was he actually?
"Explaining it will take very long... And there's no time left, right?"
Ena felt deeply apologetic.
"Normally, I should be more leisurely. But maybe because we're in the Netherworld, the divine power in my body has increased? The spirit of grampsy and Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi is truly amazing, even talking properly is becoming impossible... So Ena would like to apologize to you first."
"You want to apologize?"
"Yes, because Ena is now too strong, so strong that even I feel despicable..."
As she made such a declaration, Ena's body began to shake.
Her movements were very stiff, like those of a puppet, and completely different from her agile moves up to this point.
"Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, I pledge this body as a sacrifice, pray calm your wild spirit!"
The spell words were chanted from the miko's mouth.
Whispered words that carried piety and nihility. And inhabiting her pupils was a ferocious fighting spirit and murderous intent.
It was not the eyes of a swordsman who gambled with life to enjoy battle, but those of an evil spirit that swore to defeat all enemies and annihilate them completely.
With her changed expression, Ena raised her jet-black divine sword high using stiff movements.
"Thousand leaves breaking, Iwaki of god, surpassing possible, I now name it, unfortunate nothingness."[37]
The instant the spell song was chanted, Erica received a shocking surprise.
The magical power that protected her and allowed her to adjust to the Netherworld suddenly left her body.
That magical power was being sucked into Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi!
—The ability to assimilate the power of rebellious barbarians. It turned out it could be used in this way.
Speechless, Erica sank to her knees, her entire body losing strength and her breathing quickening. She had returned to the state when she first arrived in this world.
In front of Ena, who was under divine possession, it was truly a hopeless and desperate situation.
Part 2
To have the gall to call a god "grampsy" to his face, Ena's courage was beyond imagination.
Godou sighed as he asked:
"I'd like to ask, are you actually a [Heretic God]?"
"No, I'm no longer rebelling. I've tired of that kind of game a long time ago."
"Gods who have escaped the restrictions of their myths, aren't they all [Heretic Gods]?"
Scraps of knowledge that he picked up from Erica before.
But the god who introduced himself as Susanoo(!) simply scoffed in disdain.
"That kind of sloppy categorization is wrong. Normal gods only exist in myths, while only those who escape from legends and walk the earth can be called [Heretic Gods]."
[Heretic God] caused unprecedented disasters simply by existing on earth. This was why the only ones who could oppose them, the Campiones, were revered as devil kings. That was what Godou knew.
"As for me, I was a [Heretic God] once."
Susanoo exhaled deeply, and showed an expression as if reading Godou's mind.
"I wandered the earth for over a thousand years, then got bored and decided to live in seclusion. I suppose I used to be very violent and unreasonable, but personalities tend
to mellow with age."
His delinquent-like declaration aside, who could have thought Susanoo was an elderly former [Heretic God]?
This self-introduction stunned Godou with surprise. He had been wondering for quite a while what kind of end existed for gods like Athena, but he never thought a retirement solution like this existed.
"You mentioned living in seclusion, what is that about?"
"Since [Heretic Gods] will not die without a serious cause, they will not return to the myths either. Without any other recourse, they either go to sleep or live secluded in the Netherworld like me."
"Netherworld?"
"Oh? That's this place right here. You didn't know that? I heard you've been summoned here by your adoptive mother Pandora before."
"No, I had no idea at all."
Godou had some kind of subtle feeling as he shook his head.
The headache that appeared after he arrived at this mountain. An annoying headache that suddenly intensified.
"Hahaha, sorry, it's because I brought you here through abnormal means, so you have been unable to retrieve the memories in the Netherworld. You've probably been having a headache all along, right?"
"Then summing up all that was said just now... Everything happened because of you!"
Godou made an indignant accusation, but the elderly hero god laughed "hoho."
"Yes, I used to do many bad things like locking old sis in a cave, so tricks like hiding or concealing are a piece of cake for me."
What did he mean? Godou felt greatly suspicious.
Whenever he tried to ponder about the true visage of Susanoo, his headache would intensify.
Susanoo was originally a god of the earth from Izumo.
However due to repeatedly amalgamating numerous myths, he transformed into a typical hero god. Storms. Using his divine body that controlled storms as a foundation, he obtained the iron sword from slaying the snake.
The iron sword was the Kusanagi sword, the key to his becoming the conquering god of steel.
At the same time, Susanoo also had the hero attribute of craftily making use of deception, and a great example was the story of forcing his elder sister, the great sun goddess Amaterasu, into a stone cave. The legend of 'hiding/stealing the sun', was a common trickster myth in the Asian Pacific region.
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