Campione 16
Page 15
True Lord Erlang whispered (Hmm!?) and stared dumbfounded. Godou breathed a sigh of relief.
"That girl Erica managed it after all..."
The instant he murmured, the chain clattered as it began to tug Godou's body.
This chain was created from Erica's iron alchemy. Launched into the air from the ground, it began to drag Godou.
Then the sun's shining light came flying from the eastern sky. Godou began to meditate silently: Reduce the scale of destruction as much as possible. Reduce, reduce... He kept reciting in his mind.
If the [White Stallion] was used without restraint, the tragic incineration of Palermo's harbor would be repeated.
But if he reduced the power as much as possible, he could limit destruction to roughly the size of two or three yachts. As for the greatest scale of destruction, Godou had no idea but the thought of testing it out never occurred to him...
Due to reducing the power halfway, the size of the shining beam of light shrunk all at once.
One resulting advantage was that the flames rushing through the sky missed the original target whose position had deviated—Kusanagi Godou who was being dragged by the chain.
In this manner, only True Lord Erlang was engulfed by the light and heat.
(Fufufu. What a fulfilling night, Kusanagi Godou. Should ill fate bring our paths to cross again, a rematch with no holds barred would be nice. Let us meet again!)
Godou barely managed to hear the handsome warrior god's parting words.
Perhaps he exhausted his good fortune in the scene just now. After saving Godou from his crisis, the chain loosened and lost grip of him. Godou fell straight down towards the waterfall beneath. Or rather than fall, he was crashing down.
The only saving grace was that the waterfall directly beneath would break his fall. Several seconds later, Godou crashed and sank into the water while experiencing a terrifying impact.
Furthermore, his heart was suffering maximum pain and his body was getting stiff with paralysis. These were all side effects after using the [Raptor].
Am I going to die this time? Godou was struck with the fear of death. Oh well, ever since becoming a Campione, he had already endured such terrifying experiences repeatedly, numbering in the teens.
One could say that terrifying experiences were customary now.
Even so—Godou began to ponder with deep feeling. He really wished for occasional opponents he could defeat easily with the [Ten Incarnations]. Facing opponents of that sort, he would not need to bear so much hardship every single time...
As he prayed for this wish from the bottom of his heart, Godou faced death once again.
"Are you okay, Kusanagi Godou!?"
Then someone extended a helping hand.
The god-slayer was saved by the selfless efforts of a friend, naturally, rather than a goddess of salvation.
Jumping swiftly into the waterfall, Liliana pulled Godou out from the water. Naturally, the silver-haired knight with flight capability would act the fastest in situations like this one.
Supported by Liliana on the bank at the bottom of the waterfall, Godou managed to sit up.
Very soon, he would enter the state of complete immobilization which would definitely result in drowning. Despite his embarrassing state, Godou desperately tried to speak.
"A-At least I survived... Thank you for saving me. But..."
Due to swallowing many mouthfuls of river water as well as the usual paralysis, Godou could not speak very well.
Nevertheless, he still forced himself to express gratitude to Liliana. He added:
"I-It's common for people trying to save the drowning to get into accidents themselves... Be more careful..."
"No need to worry. Do remember that I am a witch, so I more or less know several spells for preventing drowning. Witches are not only able to fly in the sky but also skilled in swimming in the water."
Influenced by Liliana's giggling smile, Godou smiled in return. Come to think of a it, a mermaid swimming freely in the water would be quite an elegant sight.
Realizing he was saved as a result of this, Godou nodded gratefully to Liliana—Then he noticed something at this moment and frantically turned his gaze away.
To his great surprise, Liliana was dressed only in underwear. Her slender figure was clad only in a two-piece set of violet lingerie.
"M-My apologies. I was thinking it would be easier to save you in this manner, so I swiftly undressed before entering the water..."
"I-Idiot... I should be the one saying sorry about this. You shouldn't need to apologize."
Liliana used her arms to cover up her chest in embarrassment.
On the other hand, Godou's body had started to become rigid, preventing him from shifting his line of sight.
Consequently, the silver-haired knight desperately shrank into a ball, trying to avert his gaze.
But then she suddenly jumped in surprise and leaned close to Godou's face instead.
"U-Umm. I have a suggestion..."
Clearly it was just a simple question, but her voice sounded inexplicably seductive.
Her usual, stern demeanor was gone as if it never existed. Godou gulped in response.
"Kusanagi Godou. Your body seems to be in poor condition. I believe that healing magic needs to be administered."
"Eh...!?"
"Th-This is simply an act of healing. So you must accept it no matter what!"
"B-But even if you say that so suddenly..."
As much as Godou wanted to stop her, Liliana slowly pressed her lips close.
She intended to apply magic through mouth to mouth. As much as Godou wished to evade, his body could not move. Furthermore, he found himself attracted to Liliana's beautiful face and the moist-looking eyes gazing at him—
Just as he was about to accept the silver-haired knight's request—
"Wait a minute, Lily. Since everyone is here, you can't be stealing credit for yourself, right?"
"S-Stealing credit is something that never crossed my mind. I am simply worried about the state of my lord's health."
Erica expressed her objections with ladylike elegance. Although slightly panicking, Liliana still retorted in a stern and knightly tone of voice. At some point in time, everyone had arrived to this downstream location.
Erica, Ena had arrived. Even Yuri, who had contributed greatly, was approaching as she panted heavily.
"Besides, I believe that Seishuuin Ena is the first person to steal a march."
Glancing at Ena's carefree face, Liliana stated.
"Kusanagi Godou must have obtained knowledge about True Lord Erlang at some point in time. The one who took on the role of instruction could be no one else but you."
"Yes. So that doesn't count as stealing a march."
Ena happily ignored the female knight's accusations.
"If someone else apart from Ena were present, then Ena wouldn't need to do it."
"However..."
"E-Excuse me, everyone. Let us first put this matter aside for now. Do remember that Godou-san fell from such a great height and was even drowning, okay!?"
Yuri interjected with a slightly angry tone of voice.
"Our first priority is to take care of Godou-san before—"
"You have a point, but there's really no need to be too concerned with priority at times like these, right?"
Erica smiled calmly in response.
"This person—Kusanagi Godou—is quite absurd in all sorts of ways, but above all is his ridiculous aspect of being 'unkillable.' "
"That does sound about right, but Erica-san!"
Godou was greatly pleased by Yuri's care towards him in furiously trying to convince the rest of the girls.
Oh well, as part of the common sense faction, Yuri would only accidentally say something like 'that does sound about right' because she was caught up in the mood of the situation.
In any case, Godou felt extremely cold in his completely drenched state, unable to move his arms at all.
Godou took a deep breath, feeling inexplicably happy about the girls' argument.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the Netherworld—
Two noble ones were standing face to face in a deep mountain hut while a storm raged outside. One was the elderly god known as Susanoo, the former [Heretic God] Haya Susanoo no Mikoto.
He was the storm god with intimate ties to Japanese imperial authority as well as the proper owner of Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi.
"So, True Lord, what's your take on the brat?"
"A reckless and immature fellow. However, combined with the unruly willpower he displayed in the end, it is certainly fitting for a god-slayer. Speaking of which—"
The one answering Susanoo's question was the handsome warrior god, the Illustrious Sage, True Lord Erlang.
"The heavenly child who slumbers... To me it is difficult to determine if he is truly capable of defeating the god-slaying Devil Kings."
True Lord Erlang possessed the countenance of the [Noble Wandering Hero]. This was also an aspect belonging to the heroic god nicknamed the "King of the End."
"Are you filled with anticipation for something you sensed?"
"Hahaha. I believe that unruly fellow's exploits should not stop with battling the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. Should an opportunity arise in the future, I will exterminate him for good."
True Lord Erlang laughed lightly and told Susanoo:
"In that case, I cannot idle here any longer."
"Hoho. My apologies for troubling you in various ways."
Almost simultaneously, True Lord Erlang disappeared from the thatched hut.
The real True Lord Erlang could only exist in the [Domain of Immortality].
This time, only a small portion of his divine spirit had descended upon the earth due to being summoned by the talisman of the Illustrious Sage.
Furthermore, this Netherworld was the homeward path leading to the Domain of Immortality.
Along the way back, True Lord Erlang had a chat with Susanoo at the latter's invitation.
Watching the True Lord vanish, Susanoo smiled with joy and refilled his wine cup.
Chapter 7 - The Stirring of Heroes
Part 1
Who could have expected a time traveling journey that would leave them stranded for almost two months?
After experiencing a great commotion in ancient Gaul, Kusanagi Godou and his companions finally returned to the modern era.
The "corridor" leading to the past era was located in the Casentino area on the east end of Italy's central region of Tuscany. This was a zone of lush vegetation, designated as a national park.
The time tunnel's entrance was situated in a flourishing forest in a corner of this region.
Upon returning to the modern era, the sun happened to be rising in the eastern sky. The forest was thickly covered with accumulated snow. The snow's pure whiteness was even brighter and more vivid than the trees' greenery.
The sunlight of dawn illuminated this part of the world with a rosy shade of color—
After admiring this landscape of fantasy from afar, the group started to make their way towards human settlement.
The group consisted of Kusanagi Godou, Salvatore Doni, Madame Aisha, Erica Blandelli, Mariya Yuri, Liliana Kranjcar and Seishuuin Ena.
"The world on this side really is more convenient after all."
After a brief break at the hotel, Godou was muttering to himself.
Before going on the journey to the past, Doni had gathered the knights of Italy at this ancient castle hotel.
The interiors, fitted with heating, were quite warm whereas hot running water came readily from taps. Showering facilities as well. Not only was there coffee to drink, but also pizza to eat.
The hotel had been converted from an ancient castle dating back to the Middle Ages. In contrast to its antique appearance, the hotel was filled with a sense of comfort.
"Yeah, it feels like I've finally come home."
After a refreshing shower, Doni was sitting in the hotel's bar, taking large swigs of beer and ravenously wolfing down three slices of pizza.
On the other hand, Godou was hoping to return to his home country as quickly as possible to have some Japanese food.
But due to various reasons, he had decided to stay at this hotel for now.
"Sorry, Godou-san, for my sake, you have to deliberately..."
"That's not something you need to apologize for. Besides, there's plenty of time since we're still in the middle of the post-exam break. Mariya, you should get some proper rest."
That was what Godou had said to Yuri who had suddenly fallen ill with a fever after returning from the past.
The fever's cause was probably not due to a flu but from the fatigue accumulated during the long journey. Furthermore, Yuri's state of health was already unstable before setting off from Japan. She would feel exhausted and dizzy in crowded places—Those were the symptoms presented by her current physiological state. It would be best to take more care.
There were other reasons for Godou's return to be delayed.
"Fufufufu. Somehow, I find myself quite happy to be in the modern era too!"
This woman, smiling innocently, was also part of the reason.
Namely, Madame Aisha who was currently smiling radiantly, sitting on the sofa in the hotel lobby.
Finally removing her ancient attire, she had changed into a navy-blue knitted ensemble with a long white skirt.
Dressed in this manner, the Madame was flanked by a scowling woman and a young man with a cautious expression, both sitting beside her.
The ponytailed female Paladino was Saint Raffaello and Doni's master. The other was Paolo Blandelli, Erica's paternal uncle.
"Good grief, how could you say that so casually? You've no idea how much trouble we had to go through."
"Madame, while making your stay in the local area, please do not hesitate to inform me or my association, the [Copper Black Cross], should you have any requests. I, Paolo Blandelli, intend to serve provisionally as your knight to fulfill your every bidding."
"My! Erica-san's uncle is truly quite the gentleman!"
The Madame was quite touched by Paolo's respectful offer.
However, rather than a show of chivalry, this should be considered a ploy to stay by a dangerous character's side for monitoring purposes.
In fact, the same idea had occurred to Godou after sensing the Madame's intention to take up accommodations at this hotel.
(I should stay here for now to monitor her.)
Et cetera. At least while the post-exam break lasted.
Before setting off from Japan, Godou and the other students had sat the third term's examinations at Jounan Academy where they were studying. After that, they had used the post-exam break to make the long trip from Japan to Italy.
Meanwhile, at a hidden position out of Madame Aisha's sight, several people were having a secret conversation.
"Will the people in this hotel be fine? Is there not quite a substantial risk for them to be charmed by Madame Aisha's authority?"
"Well, this place is run by the [Capital of Lilies] to begin with after all."
While looking at the happily smiling Madame Aisha from a distance, Liliana and Erica were whispering to each other.
As a side note, the [Capital of Lilies] was the magic association headquartered in the ancient city of Florence in Tuscany.
"In fact, the majority of employees are equipped with knowledge of magic. I've also heard that they have already used magic to protect their brains and minds beforehand as a precaution... Well, only to the extent that one could feel slightly relieved."
"Even Ena and you were also affected by Aisha-san's authority once."
Resonating strongly with heartfelt emotion, Ena agreed with Erica's opinion.
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In any case, this trip had turned into a great expedition lasting almost two months. Nevertheless, upon returning to the modern era, they discovered that the calendar had merely advanced to the second day.
In the end, Godou and company had returned the next morning after the departing day.
"I suppose I should say: as expected of a journey through time. Truly absurd to an excessive degree."
Liliana's astonished murmurs were understandable.
The current guests at this ancient castle hotel in Tuscany not only included Saint Raffaello and Paolo but also Doni's butler, Andrea Rivera.
When Godou's group first returned to the hotel, Rivera had been out handling matters.
But upon returning, he was reunited with his foolish master.
"Come, Salvatore Doni. I'm sure you've fully prepared yourself to be sunk into the Mariana Trench together with a thirty-thousand-ton tanker. Perhaps now is the perfect opportunity to exile you from the surface world forever. Let's have a good discussion regarding this issue."
Dragging the neck of the whole commotion's principal culprit, Rivera dragged the man into another room...
In addition, these were not the only people present to welcome Godou and the other's return.
"Onii-sama! As well as Onee-chan and everyone else, thank goodness that you've all returned safe and sound!"
"We flew here from Japan after hearing about the emergency situation. Looks like the problem has already been resolved while we were on our way, that's really wonderful."
During the afternoon after their return, two Japanese had arrived at the hotel.
Yuri's younger sister, Hikari, and the History Compilation Committee's special agent, Amakasu Touma. Upon hearing that "Japan's Campione and his entourage are on a time traveling journey!?", Amakasu had immediately hurried to Italy. Furthermore, Hikari had also expressed her wish to come along.
"Although my original intention was to assist in Onii-sama's return, it ended up turning into a free trip to Italy."
After explaining the situation, Hikari added mischievously.
The Mariya family's second daughter was only twelve years old but was already a Hime-Miko in training. Presumably, that was precisely why her request to be sent on this mission was approved. Godou expressed his thanks from the bottom of his heart.