"I didn't know it was that kind of movie either. And really, Lily, you even fainted to have a wonderful dream in the middle of watching it."
"No, not at all. I also fell for your tricks when we were selecting clothes while shopping in Milan. All you picked were those shameless clothing with low cuts, open backs and bared navels, and you bought so much—!"
"Lily you have a great figure, so those clothes really suit you. You should be more confident in yourself!"
"Q-Quiet! Also, half a year ago when we met in Venice by chance—you k-kept saying all these nice but insincere things to please me, and played me like a toy!"
"Oh my, are you saying this is the same? And here I was, trying to give Lily some good advice!"
At that instant, the death knights finally made a move.
Taking advantage of the moment when Liliana let her guard down and lost awareness of their presence, two of the four knights swung their blades at Erica, chopping downwards!
Not only was there a disadvantage in numbers, but one could not stop moving when fighting in a place like this.
Stopping would immediately mean being surrounded, and a one against many fight will result in a massacre. However Erica forced herself to move and face the two attacking death knights.
Swinging Cuore di Leone to restrict the chopping motion of one of them, she followed the motion of the sword with her hips.
As the sword of the second knight approached, she dodged glamorously with a slight twist of her body.
In that instant, she looked at Liliana.
Their glances exchanged. The face, beautiful as a doll's, frowned slightly. Il Maestro went into motion once more. As the blue and black cape fluttered in the wind, Liliana Kranjcar finally took action.
"You will receive your comeuppance one day! Be prepared!"
As she made her short complaint, Liliana approached.
Erica was using herself as bait for the two death knights, while Liliana made a series of fierce attacks using Il Maestro.
One flash, two flashes.
Just like that, Liliana subdued the two unwary knights.
There were two knights remaining which could be dealt with one on one. The two of them also jumped onto the roof where Erica and Liliana were.
The first to make a move was Liliana.
Like a bird she jumped high into the stormy sky. The blue and black cape fluttered in the wind following her as she swooped down like a fierce bird of prey.
Below her one of the death knights waited.
The corpse held a longsword and thrusted towards the girl who had nowhere to hide in midair.
—Too naive.
Having said that, Erica's lips curled with a smile of assurance.
The type of [Leap] that Liliana used was much different from Erica's. It went much faster, flew much higher, jumped much further, and could even ignore principles of continuity.
Her descent suddenly halted.
Liliana stopping her free fall was like hitting the brakes in mid air. The sword of the death knight missed its target.
Immediately, Liliana resumed her fall and swung her sabre downwards.
The weight and the force of the leap powered the sword's attack with kinetic energy as it struck the death knight, and a deep slash crossing from the right shoulder to the left hip sliced open the body.
Falling to the ground, the knees collapsed and the body fell forward and began to crumble from the bottom.
In a short moment, the death knight turned into scattered dust.
Liliana Kranjcar's leaping skills had already reached the level of flying. Even a master would have difficulty winning against her if they were unfamiliar with the way she fought.
"Truly amazing, Lily. You've always had a talent for flying around!"
Erica expressed approval.
Since ancient times, this had been deeply rooted in the witch culture of eastern and southern Europe.
It was said that they made secret potions, tamed wild beasts in the woods with magic, and flew freely in the skies. Being able to acquire these skills was determined by disposition at birth, as well as further training throughout life.
Erica's aptitude in this area was greatly surpassed by Liliana.
However, to make up for it—
Manipulating steel, and using spells to forge blades and spears. In terms of the power to use magic to create these tools of killing and destruction, Erica was far ahead!
"Cuore di Leone which was forged by the black night! The descendant of the highest sword! Respond to my prayer, the steel of kings!"
This was the arcane art of the Excalibur[14], to raise her beloved sword's slicing efficiency to the max.
Using these spell words, Erica struck with her sword in a superior posture. The longsword used by the death knight was cleanly cut in half by Cuore di Leone.
Against the attacks of the blue and red knights, the last death knight also turned into dust.
"Even from a long time ago, you have been using brute strength to defeat others like this. What an idiot suited for charging on the front lines."
"Hey Lily. I've always been praising you directly, why are you always insulting me... This is why I say you are not lady-like."
The displeased Liliana immediately worsened her expression at Erica's criticism.
"Quiet! Rather than this, you should be rushing to meet up with your master. That important person should probably still be fighting for Mariya Yuri, right? Head there before it is too late!"
The noble, unsullied and chivalrous knight. This was the maiden called Liliana Kranjcar.
Witnessing this truth once again, Erica smiled.
She did not want to work under the Marquis. On a certain level, she definitely supported Kusanagi Godou.
"Very true... But this is great, Lily volunteering to help me. However, my interest is in threatening!"
"Threatening? Do you really think you can threaten me with a sword to force me to join?"
Liliana spoke like she was treated as a fool to be played with.
However, Erica grinned and shook her head. She was not going to engage in that kind of tasteless behavior.
"Hey, in a certain drawer in your bedroom—the second one counting from the top. That notebook there, isn't it quite nice? Very expressive and full of feeling, like a young girl's!"
"—!?"
Liliana stared at Erica with murderous eyes.
Erica continued unfazed.
"Who would have thought you had an interest in writing novels? 'I hate those kinds of aloof people. However, what is this intense beating in my chest? Is it possible, could this be, is this love?' Romance novels with this kind of feeling are so rare in the current entertainment media. If it were me, I would put in more dead people, murders, action, and martial arts!"
"What! Hey hey hey! How do you know the existence of 'that'!?"
Erica hummed slightly and smiled.
There was actually a maid in the Kranjcar household who acted as a secret informant, but there was no need to reveal that fact.
"Fufufu. If Lily would become my close friend from now on, then I will automatically forget about the existence of that notebook? So, comprehend?"
"Kill! I would rather kill you to silence that mouth of yours forever!"
To the seriously furious Liliana, Erica gave out a glamorous smile.
This was the smile that Godou described as like a devil's.
"Don't be so hasty. If I died, the sealed contents of the will is full of details of that novel—I was thinking it might come in handy one day, but I never expected it to be today!"
"You, you, you devil! You are not human!!"
Hearing repeated cries of that most familiar title, Erica began planning the next step.
Since a powerful ally has been gained, it was time to meet up with Godou as soon as possible. The king who lent his assistance to those in need, where was he now—?
Part 2
It was just as Erica Blandelli was bringing
Liliana Kranjcar over to her cause.
Kusanagi Godou and Mariya Yuri were at the door of a public recreation facility.
It was slightly after half past nine at night.
All staff and users had already left earlier. Presumably because of the sudden storm which resembled a typhoon, they all left hastily.
—Keeping Yuri in his arms, Godou ran here as if he was flying.
Knowing his limit was near, he happened upon this shelter, and fell over like an invalid as he stepped in.
"Kusanagi-san!? What is the matter!"
"...I'm sorry, Mariya. Let me stay like this for a while. This always happens after using the [Raptor]. Due to using it for so long, this part becomes very painful..."
Whispering, Godou pressed upon his chest with his hand.
Verethragna's [Raptor] could grant Godou superhuman speed and a light body. The cost for doing so was the current condition. An intense pain in the heart depending on the length of usage.
No magic existed to alleviate this pain. As Godou was covered with cold sweat, there was nothing he could do but endure.
"Please relax your body. I will now use magic to relieve pain."
"No, it won't work... But I'll be fine."
Godou refused the rare show of concern.
However, Yuri did not heed him, and started treatment on her own. Placing her palm on Godou's chest, she gently caressed him.
Through her palm a gentle warmth was transmitted. In normal situations it would probably soothe the most intense pains. Regrettably, a Campione's body was not a normal body.
Whether hostile or friendly, all directly applied magic will be rejected.
This was due to their powerful resistance towards magic and wizardry.
"...No effect? How could this be!?"
Yuri was surprised to discover the lack of effect from her magic.
Godou endured the pain and smiled slightly. In fact he was already in too much pain to do that, but forced himself to make display for her.
"Think back, didn't I tell you before? Under normal circumstances, our bodies are resistant to the effects of magic. However, the only exception is when magic is blown directly into the body..."
"That, that really was true!"
It was the battle against Athena last time. That time when Godou accepted Erica's [Teaching] magic from her mouth directly, and obtained knowledge about the goddess. Yuri had felt extreme indignation watching that scene.
"I-I thought that when y-you and Erica-san did that... That shameless intimate contact, it was just an excuse... S-so sorry!"
"Could it be that you always thought that... —Ouch it really hurts!!"
The painful sensation attacking his heart was like being pricked with needles.
As Yuri worriedly watched Godou's face, she kept caressing the area around Godou's chest.
"You don't need to do that, Mariya. After all it doesn't work."
"No. Even without magic, there will still be an effect. Do not speak like you know everything. To have used such a dangerous power... you really go out of control sometimes."
Despite saying that, the motions of Yuri's hand were extremely gentle.
Pain was really subsiding. The warmth from the palm of her hand was very comfortable.
"In the past, my mother would always do this where I was hurt. Even though she was a normal person who did not know any spells, the pain always receded gradually. So I know that it will work for Kusanagi-san."
"Ah ah, yes. Perhaps it really is like that..."
But of course, the pain in his heart was still there.
However, compared to enduring the pain just now, he found it easier to endure. Godou finally relaxed his body a little... and then, noticed.
Without noticing when, he had started engaging in intimate contact with Yuri.
The two of them had their clothes drenched by rain—Godou was wearing his school uniform, while Yuri was wearing the miko outfit. Having absorbed massive amounts of water, the fabric clung closely to the skin, and mercilessly absorbed body warmth.
However, the parts in bodily contact felt warm instead.
Unlike Erica, Yuri did not use perfume or anything like that. But leaning so closely together, a sweet fragrance could be picked up.
This was bad. Godou felt embarrassed from the bottom of his heart.
"Umm, umm Mariya, could you stay back a little? I think I'm much better now."
"N-no Kusanagi-san. If there is still an effect, then it would be better to maintain this. Also, if we do this our bodies can feel warmth... Umm, the two of us can..."
Yuri also seemed to have noticed the same thing, and they avoided each other's gaze.
The part which the miko's white outfit did not cover—the face turned bright red as autumn leaves. Was it imagination? But body warmth also felt like it was rising.
—Ten minutes later.
Most of the pain had gone away. However, it was still difficult to move the limbs.
After experiencing a certain period of intense pain, the body became powerless and could not move temporarily. This was the price of using the [Raptor] form.
However, since one obtained unparalleled speed in return, perhaps it couldn't be helped.
Maybe due to the lack of conversation, Godou tried his hardest to think of other things.
In the tens of minutes leaning close together without a word being said, it was like being tortured or interrogated. At least, if there was something to chat about...
"A-anyway, about that old gramps. Mariya once mentioned it, right? The usurped authority which allowed the manipulation of corpses. That one, what was the god called?"
"...Osiris. The ancient Egyptian deity of agricultural fertility, and the god ruling the underworld."
"...A god of harvest as well as the underworld? Why do I feel like I've heard of this guy before?"
The goddess Athena was the dark deity of the underworld as well as the great mother earth goddess.
Then wasn't it exactly the same as the battle that ended a month ago? Godou felt doubtful.
"Perhaps it is just as Kusanagi-san thought. A fertility deity, who can turn the earth into swaths of lush greenery, turns into a god of the underworld when winter or night time arrives. Like Athena, there are two sides to Osiris. However, he was a male god and not a mother earth goddess."
The mother goddess in Egypt was named Isis. The goddess of the earth who was also the wife of Osiris.
Killed by one of the younger brothers of a desert god, Osiris' corpse was torn to pieces and thrown into the Nile. The one who gathered the pieces together was his wife Isis.
The pieces of the body were sewn back together by the god Anubis, and revived.
Thus resurrected, Osiris became the king of the underworld, judging the dead based on sins committed during their lifetime—
"And that is to say, the Egyptian version of Yamaraja[15]? Which is why Voban can make the people he killed crawl out from their graves to become zombies or mummies and bind them to the living world."
"T-that description is a bit crude, but categorizing it that way should be correct."
After listening to the myths told by Yuri, Godou looked at his right hand.
...Still no good.
The god-killing golden sword. It was still uncertain whether the [Warrior] form's power could be used.
"Can you tell me more about Osiris? I want to gather more intelligence as preparation for the [Warrior]."
"I am really sorry. I do not know any more details... However, Marquis Voban is not a god, right? So I do not think that the power to seal a god can be used?"
Yuri wondered, surprised.
Godou had originally thought the same, but shook his head.
"The [Warrior]'s [Sword] can destroy a Campione's authority. If Osiris' authority is sealed, then Voban will not be able to manipulate the dead as his puppets. That guy will also weaken, and those people can return to their graves... Ah, but perhaps the harder one to handle is the [W
olf]? If he took on that monstrous form, I am out of options."
In the duel against Salvatore Doni, Godou had found out by accident.
However, thinking of the previous battle, Godou felt depressed.
The form capable of dueling Voban's giant wolf avatar would be the [Boar]. However, if those kinds of monsters were to battle in the middle of the city, who knew how many innocent victims there would be?
"What kind of god was the [Wolf] authority usurped from? The first god that the old gramps defeated... Even Mariya doesn't know, right?"
"Yes, I am sorry I cannot be of any help. Even I was surprised by that [Wolf]—"
Suddenly, Yuri stopped talking.
Staring into empty space, murmuring in a soft voice.
"As the sun possessing the strongest light... The beast which swallowed and assimilated it... Definitely cannot have attributes of darkness... If that was the case, the existence of the god that brings eternal night will..."
"Mariya what is going on with you?"
Seeing her acting a bit strange, Godou yelled out.
However, Yuri still did not respond. If his hand could move, Godou would definitely shake her by the shoulder.
"The god that can devour light, that definitely implies the presence of the same light within him... However, this is not enough... The wolf is a symbol of the earth and greenery... Not only the god of the earth but light as well—Kusanagi-san!"
Yuri's eyes regained feeling.
Grabbing Godou's immobile body, Yuri said.
"Got it! I got it! The first god Voban fought—the identity of the god from which the authority of wolves was usurped from, I saw it!"
Mariya possessed top notch power in spirit vision.
Godou thought of this fact. Very likely, in witnessing Voban's use of the authority, the secret was leaked out.
"How amazing, Mariya. So which god is it after all? Name? Do you know his myth?"
"Like the god Osiris, he is also a god of the earth and greenery. No, rather than the earth, it is more accurate to say he is a god of birth. Darkness and the earth are synonyms. The world dominated by darkness—which is to say the underground is an existence combining darkness with the earth together. However, he is made of the light born from darkness and the earth!"
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