Campione 16

by The Stirring of Heroes

  Chapter 1 - Appearance of Devil King and Knight

  【Excerpt from the book Devil Kings, authored by the 19th century Italian mage Alberto Rigano】

  Upon each of those who have accomplished such a terrifying feat, I shall bestow the title "Campione."

  Wise readers may express doubts regarding this title, possibly dismissing my records as exaggerations.

  But allow me to emphasize once again.

  Campiones are conquerors.

  Because they are capable of slaughtering the gods of the heavens, thereby obtaining supreme power.

  Campiones are kings.

  Because they are able to rule anyone on Earth by wielding authorities usurped from the gods.

  Campiones are devil kings.

  Because none of the living can oppose their powers!

  On a certain spring morning, the sky was bright and clear without a single cloud for miles.

  The refreshingly cool blue sky of May stretched overhead to as far as the eye could see. Nevertheless, thirteen-year-old Alessia's little bosom was brimming with unease. In contrast to the weather, her mood was hardly cheerful.

  "...If only things could settle down today."

  She murmured to herself softly as she walked along the path through the fields towards the monastery.

  Alessia lived in a remote village located within Italy's central region of Tuscany. Here, the inhabitants mostly made their living off agriculture and forestry. This place was simply a small village and not a tourist attraction.

  Also, Alessia was just an ordinary middle school student living in this village... Well, not exactly.

  She possessed a secret skill. Namely, "magic." This ominous skill was the ability she gradually acquired under the tutelage of an old monk who used to live in the monastery at the village entrance until he passed away a few months ago.

  After the old man died, sweeping and cleaning this little ancient monastery became Alessia's daily chore.

  She came before this Romanesque stone building, one that could have been built in the twelfth century. As she advanced towards the depths of the chapel, she muttered the reason why she was worried.

  "...How is the situation underground? If only it would settle down..."

  The mysterious old man who once lived here had secretly told her before. He claimed to be no ordinary monk but belonged to a knightly order that held mastery over rare magic. Furthermore, he even said that Alessia possessed the same talent as himself.

  That was what he had said in the past when he taught Alessia basic magic.

  "The holy sanctum dedicated to ancient deity's 'beast of strange forms'... This monastery was built to conceal its traces. As for this beast of strange forms, it might be a reference to a certain 'Goddess of Beasts' perhaps."

  "Goddess of Beasts?"

  "Yes. Given some incomprehensible opportunity, these [Heretic Gods] descend on the earth with alarming simplicity. And they bring disaster, causing great hardship to us humans."

  These were the faithless words of an old man, one without any relatives to accompany his last and dying days.

  Alessia recalled the incident as she ventured forward in trepidation.

  Beneath her current position was the underground location where terrifying magical power could be sensed starting a week ago.

  Hence, she naturally recalled what she heard about "gods." As well as the deceased old man's warning of the door "never to be opened no matter what." That door was concealed behind the statue of the Virgin Mary.

  In a corner of the chapel was a statue of Mary which had been painted completely black for some reason.

  Apparently, the wall behind the statue could be pushed and spun around to reach the deep space on the other side.

  A week earlier, sensing strong magical power, Alessia had tried opening the door with trepidation.

  ...Behind the door was a flight of stairs that led underground. Reaching the bottom, she discovered a path leading to a natural cave.

  She did not have the courage to continue. The endless black space felt terrifying. However, the main reason was because she heard the howls of wild beasts.

  It sometimes sounded like the barking of dogs and the neighing of horses on other occasions.

  As well as the chirping of birds, and the indiscernible cries of some kind of ferocious beast. However, she never heard the same sound twice...

  That time, Alessia frantically ran up the steps and returned to the chapel—

  In the past week, as the underground magical power gradually increased each passing day, her uneasiness rose accordingly. Then on this particular morning, Alessia felt extremely uncomfortable the instant she stepped into the chapel.

  This was the result of being bathed in magical power more intense than she had ever felt before.

  "Has a great god really descended...?"

  Just as Alessia's heart was filled with worry and she was about to murmur again.

  Clang! Clang! A metallic impact could be heard from above the ceiling. This was the result of [Alarm] magic being triggered.

  This took effect whenever a being above a certain threshold of magical power approached the monastery.

  This was the first time for Alessia to hear this sound.

  It was magic that she had cast as a precaution against outside intruders. Nevertheless, she was delighted instead. Although she did not know why they had come, at least a great and powerful mage must have entered the area. This could very well be her chance to seek counsel regarding the deity who was about to awaken underground!

  Alessia focused her magical sensing to read the danger report provided by the [Alarm] spell.

  Extraordinarily powerful—No good, that "excessively powerful" being seemed to be moving along the river behind the mountain. Alessia immediately rushed outside, hoping to catch the presence before it left.

  On this cool and refreshing spring morning, the rosy clouds of May could be seen floating slowly up in the sky above.

  However, Kusanagi Godou's current mood had nothing to do with cool and refreshing.

  This was only natural. Just earlier, he had spent the entire night fighting some monster whose appearance he could not see. In the end, he was swept into the river and had been clinging onto driftwood while he floated for the past dozens of minutes.

  Only now did he manage to get ashore with great difficulty.

  However, Godou was hurt. His body was covered with burns and his back had suffered a deep slashing wound. He was covered with bruises all over. Nevertheless, these painful sensations gave him a sort of pleasure of being alive.

  "It feels... Feels like I seem to be gradually getting used to this kind of stuff..."

  " 'Seem to be' is completely redundant, Godou. You are fully accustomed to this sort of adventure already."

  This "partner" declared with effortless certainty towards Godou as he endured his pain.

  Erica Blandelli. The beautiful girl who possessed a head of reddish lustrous blonde hair.

  However, her beauty was not only based on her physical appearance, for Erica's aura of ambition and intellect that exuded from her entire being was the major contributor to the deep impression of glamor she left on others.

  "Clearly so little time has passed since you defeated Verethragna on the island of Sardinia... Yet in all aspects you are already a Devil King who can stand in his own right. This I can guarantee completely."

  "That kind of guarantee is completely unnecessary... Well, anyway."

  Sitting quietly on the riverbank from exhaustion, Godou spoke up.

  "Thank you for your help this time as well. Thanks."

  After the battle against the Persian Warlord Verethragna and becoming a "Campione," all sorts of pandemonium broke loose one after ano
ther.

  After that, he had fought the ancient Mediterranean sky god Melqart at the island of Sicily, and also arrived at Milan to battle his fellow Campione, Salvatore Doni, the sword genius...

  The only reason Godou was able to overcome all of these deadly challenges, was due to Erica's aid and support.

  ...Well, this time, it all started from her "let's go check out this giant eel monster that has been sighted in Tuscany" suggestion. She was the true culprit who proposed and forced him to take on this venture.

  But in spite of everything, her being his savior remained as unchangeable fact.

  Not only was Godou completely wet from being carried by the river current, Erica was also fully drenched. This was because his "partner" had jumped into the river in order to pull Godou back ashore. For the sake of saving Godou, she had done so without any hesitation.

  The river flowing before them was the Arno.

  It was said to be a great river traversing the region of Tuscany from east to west. However, due to the current mountainous location, the river was not particularly wide. Such was the scenery belonging to this slightly bigger than average river.

  "This river apparently passes through Florence, right?"

  "Yes. Continuing along downstream should reach the city of lilies, Florence. If you go further along the river, you will reach Pisa, famous for its leaning tower. Beyond that, the river flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea."

  The ones Erica listed out were the most famous cities located in the region of Tuscany.

  Hearing these familiar geographical names, Godou muttered with heartfelt feeling.

  "How fortunate that I didn't have to take a river tour through all those places..."

  "But precisely because you are Godou, wouldn't it be most unbecoming to die a death of drowning?"

  Completely drenched, Erica bore a serious expression. She did not seem like she was joking.

  Godou felt slightly displeased. Even though he believed that his body was "perhaps" rather excessive in survival ability, at least that kind of unreasonable result should not happen. Probably...

  Feeling the chilly air against his completely drenched body, Godou shuddered.

  His strength was being drained. He seemed to have lost too much blood and energy from drifting in the river with all his injuries. Seeing his condition, Erica smiled with a chuckle. Rather than taking sadistic pleasure in Godou's misfortune, it was probably the opposite.

  Though Godou figured out what she was thinking, it was already too late.

  In the next instant, Erica had already swiftly approached and embraced Godou in her arms.

  "Hoho. Now first we must heal your wounds. Accept this obediently."

  Erica displayed a mesmerizing smile towards Godou as she whispered softly. She drew her face extremely near.

  Had she gone another 10cm or so, their faces would probably have stuck tightly together.

  "No, don't. After all, my body should heal on its own!"

  Kusanagi Godou's body had already become one that "could not die easily."

  Although this was completely beyond common logic, even if he suffered a sufficiently severe injury, a nap was probably not enough to heal things completely.

  "So anyway, healing isn't completely pointless, you know?"

  Erica smiled innocently and adorably as she pressed her lips close to Godou's face.

  "Currently, you should recover your wounds as quickly as possible and dry your clothes. For this purpose, all effort must be spent. Because I am your lover who stands as Kusanagi Godou's knight... Even offering you my lips is nothing particularly out of the ordinary."

  "T-That is exactly the problem!"

  Like that supernatural ability to survive, this was also part of the new constitution Godou had obtained.

  Namely, absolute resistance to magic. Once reborn as a Campione, a person became immune to all magic, rendering it ineffective.

  This applied indiscriminately towards all magic, whether friendly or hostile.

  "However, as long as it is through oral intake, magic can still be applied to you. Hoho, I really must express my gratitude towards the existence of such a loophole. Thanks to that, not only can I help Godou but I can also enjoy the pleasure of kissing you."

  With such a seductive tone of voice, Erica took Godou's lips.

  Her sweet kiss sealing his mouth, Godou began to feel dizzy. Those soft lips of hers felt pleasurable beyond belief, plunging one into ecstasy. Erica began with light pecks on Godou's lips then proceeded to kiss him as if trying to envelope his entire mouth.

  Then using her moist lips to caress Godou's lips, she slipped her tongue inside.

  Using her tongue to tie down Godou's, the two tongues entangled with each other. Tongue and tongue were wrapped around each other in separable intimate contact.

  With great intensity of emotion, Erica opened her lips and carefully savored the taste of Godou's mouth. With passionate Latin style, she sought Godou's tongue, boldly licking with her own.

  Then Godou felt [Recovery] magic being poured forth from her mouth, easing away his pain.

  "Hey Erica. My wounds are already healed, isn't it time to stop..."

  However, the blonde beauty continued to lick his lips, completely unconcerned.

  "Very well. The kiss just now was to heal your wounds. From this point onwards, the kissing is purely to enjoy the pleasure of making out with you, the task of affirming our love."

  Erica declared thus.

  Obviously, she did not move her lips away. She was conversing with Godou in whispers as she kissed him.

  ...In the end, this kiss persisted for another five minutes until Erica finally released her lips. However, the reason was not because she was tired of kissing.

  "Time to warm our bodies. I will start a fire now."

  Standing on the riverside in drenched clothes, both of them were feeling quite a chill.

  Feeling embarrassed, Godou silently nodded once emphatically as if he was unable to stare Erica in the face.

  The two of them had met for the first time towards the south of the Italian peninsula, on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.

  While they were running around all over that island, Erica's attitude towards Godou had been rather unfriendly.

  However, after enduring many desperate trials together, before they knew it, Erica had changed to the point that she could openly declare her "love" to Godou.

  Not only verbally, but also in attitude and behavior. Even to the point of engaging in this sort of passionate kissing...

  "Hey Godou, now that the issues after the battle have all been handled, why don't we spend some private time together to make some sweet and loving memories?"

  Beyond that, she even made this request. Godou frantically asked:

  "Uh, well, what?"

  "Sweet and loving memories. I've already spoken to Uncle. Who knows if it would be a few months or years down the road, but I do intend to have children with you for sure, Godou, so we have to coordinate."

  "Children—!"

  "I have no intention to rush, but this is inevitable. You should prepare yourself beforehand accordingly."

  Ignoring Godou's dumbfounded surprise, Erica snapped her fingers loudly.

  A mass of flames suddenly ignited before their eyes. This was apparently magic for starting a fire instantly.

  "How convenient..."

  Godou calmed his emotions and walked near the fire. Erica did the same.

  The two gathered around the bonfire, warming their cold bodies. But two minutes later, Godou began to scream.

  "Hey, what the heck! What on earth are you doing!?"

  Erica was slowly removing her wet clothing before the fire.

  "What are you talking about, Godou? It's not like I can continue wearing these clothes like this, right?"

  "True, you have a point! But I'm right here—a man is present, you know!?"

  "Back on the island of Sicily, haven't you seen the naked body of Erica Blandelli,
mine, completely already? By this point, what do you have to be concerned about?"

  With a seductive smile, Erica boldly displayed her figure before Godou.

  The only articles of clothing on her body were her red bra and underwear.

  Her pale and pristine complexion was a dizzying sight. Furthermore, more than anything else, the perfect proportions of her figure were greatly troubling to Godou. Despite Erica's slender build, her body was voluptuous and full in all the right places yet slender and taut where appropriate.

  The sight of this perfect body that would put a magazine model to shame sent Godou into a state of panic.

  Seeing Godou in such a state, Erica displayed a ladylike smile, full of open-minded acceptance. Nevertheless, this sort of mischievousness and broadminded personality were indeed quite attractive—

  "Godou, shouldn't you take that off as well? Aren't you cold wearing it?"

  "Feeling cold is fine!"

  Even though Godou's upper torso was bare, he kept his jeans on.

  This was because he was mindful of the presence of the woman before him. But to his surprise, she acted in such a manner. Godou's inner world was turned upside down in complete turmoil, his heart beating rapidly out of control.

  But immediately...

  Erica suddenly tensed her facial expression and performed [Summoning] magic.

  This was a spell for summoning a personal object from a certain location. What she summoned was a garment that resembled a short cape. This cape was striped with the red and black colors of rossonero. Wrapping it around her shoulders, Erica covered her upper torso.

  Godou also prepared his stance.

  Probably, Erica was trying to prevent her bare body from being seen by someone apart from Godou. That was why she covered up? In other words, someone was probably approaching right now.

  As a master swordsman in addition to being a mage, did she hear the sound of footsteps or sense someone's presence?

  After a while, a girl came running. She appeared to be twelve or thirteen years old or so, and gave off quite a cute impression. As soon as she saw the fire Erica had lit, she jumped in surprise.

  "Magical flames? Are you two users of magic!?"

  This was the beginning of a "little commotion" in which Kusanagi Godou was caught up in.