Campione 13

by Princess Goddess of the South Seas

  "Yeah, didn't you do it before in the battle against the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Mariya? Just use that kind of sensing again."

  "I-I was only able to do it that time because of your protection, Godou-san, which augmented my powers substantially. Even if I attempted to use my powers on a Campione under normal conditions, there would not be any effect..."

  " "......" "

  This time, the two successfully reached agreement as they gazed into each other.

  They must perform the usual ritual. To think they had to engage in that kind of behavior when everyone else were fighting for their lives. But no one was watching at the moment. And no matter what, it was a necessary step—

  "V-Very well... I am ready whenever..."

  Hearing Godou whisper softly, Yuri lifted her face slightly.

  Their faces naturally closed the distance and came together successfully. Yuri accepted Godou's kiss with a blissful expression, opening her lips to receive him.

  Like two halves of a closing shell, their lips pressed together tightly as one.

  Just as Godou spontaneously inserted his tongue, Yuri likewise extended her tongue after a brief moment of hesitation.

  Like a bow playing against the string of a stringed instrument, their tongues tangled together. Then slowly, the ritual began.

  The first to manifest was a black sphere the size of a golf ball.

  In the beach of the cove serving as the battlefield, the black sphere manifested in the air above it like a dark blot.

  It was a small stellar object quite small in size. But in less than twenty seconds, it had already expanded to a sphere roughly ten-odd meters in diameter, creating a terrifying and imposing presence in the sky.

  'A black star of destruction...?'

  The Fire Goddess whispered with great surprise.

  Like a rainbow hanging over the sky, the goddess had been leisurely observing the beach below. Calm and composed in her word choice all along, she displayed troubled feelings for the first time.

  Meanwhile, on the ground—

  A change was occurring on the blade of Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi which Ena had stabbed into the ground.

  The gently curving blade of black metal was shrouded in blue-black flames burning silently. These blue otherworldly flames were without temperature whatsoever. Instead of heat, they gave off extreme cold to the surroundings.

  "It's finally started...!"

  Watching the changes in her partner's steel, Ena yelled out.

  In its current state, she could no longer wield and swing the sword as usual. There was probably only one person in the entire world who could grip this burning metal of black in his hand.

  But before returning to the hand of the one and only user, the sword should at least make one strike—

  "Ama no Murakumo! I beg you, please help those two girls a little!"

  Ena called upon the black metal's will. Instantly, the burning metal of black started moving autonomously.

  Floating up into the sky above, the tip of the blade left behind the beach where Ena had stabbed it, then flew towards the red and blue knights who were fighting in the distance.

  Erica and Liliana were resolutely fighting the [Boar].

  " "By the sign of the black cross! Grant unto us the blood of the Son of God, displaying stigmata to the world!" "

  The two knights crossed the lance and the naginata together.

  The two weapons formed the shape of a cross. Released from this cross-shaped weapon, white light was flying towards the [Boar] straight ahead.

  The light of the sacred cross was comparable in size to the [Boar]'s head.

  ROOOOOOAAAAAAAAR!

  Blinded by the intense brightness, the [Boar]'s face shrank back greatly.

  Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi flew forth with a whoosh. Brushing past the [Boar]'s face for but an instant, the sword slashed through its remaining left eye and continued flying towards another direction.

  GROOOOOAAAAAAN!

  This time it was a howl of pain. Overcome with rage and pain, the [Boar] began to rampage.

  Shaking its gigantic body intensely, it released roars of shockwaves, stomping the ground viciously to express its wrath. But due to losing both its eyes, the shockwaves failed to target the knights. Thanks to that, the two girls breathed a temporary sigh of relief.

  "Godou and Yuri seem to have activated the secret technique Athena left behind...!"

  "Erica. If we continue to stay here... The situation will be quite terrible. My spirit vision has given warning."

  As Erica expressed amazement, Liliana yelled at her.

  The two nodded immediately. Just at this moment, the jet-black divine sword that had rescued them reached a corner of the beach several hundred meters away.

  The people located there were Godou and Mariya Yuri, naturally.

  Using his right hand, Godou gripped the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi that was burning with blue-black flames. With the sacred black metal finally returned to the hand of the user, it was time to welcome the "Sword of the Beginning and the End."

  Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi was wielded in Godou's hand.

  Instantly, the giant black star in the sky above began to spin.

  Like planetary rotation, the black star spun slowly on its own axis, once, twice. As it gradually increased its rotation speed, it was soon spinning at astounding speeds.

  Gwoon. Gwoon. Unique noises were coming from the black star overhead.

  Standing directly beneath this star, Godou lifted Ama no Murakumo up high.

  "O King, only by using the black blade to bring about ends and beginnings to the earth and the Netherworld can Your Highness be said to have truly mastered the goddess' wisdom..."

  Murmuring softly, Yuri leaned in close against Godou as if she were his spouse.

  Her gaze hollow, her tone of voice was also very solemn. Due to the excessive intensity of the oracle obtained through spirit vision, she had descended into a hypnotized state. The images seen by Yuri were transmitted to Godou's mind through psychic sensing, forming the foundation of the power causing the black star to "rotate."

  —Moon and darkness. Mother became the land. The Earth's green hills. The merciless queen of the night.

  —Yonder distant star. Deep in the deepest ocean abyss. The underworld's winds blowing through the frozen underground.

  —Black steel. Burning black metal. Sword. Sword. Blade. Attraction. Absorption. Compression. Crushed. Pulverized. Released.

  —Planetary rotation. Circle traced out. Revolution. Tornado. Hurricane. Storm. Storm. Storm.

  Indeed, this was the storm-summoning sword. The sword of freezing. The sword of dragons. The sword of dawn. The sword summoning destruction.

  Verily, this was the black blade. Nevertheless, destruction was the beginning of new life, holding both the beginning and the end. Hence, this steel created heaven and earth—!

  These unbelievable, fragmented images were running amok inside Godou's body.

  "Those that summon storms... A thousand dragons, a thousand snakes. Gather now to become a blade!"

  The instant the spell words were uttered from Godou's mouth, a terrifying storm began to blow madly.

  Rather than blowing all existences away, this wind served to absorb them. The black star rotating above Godou's head was sucking in everything from the surroundings!

  This was akin to objects falling, attracted by the Earth's gravitational pull.

  The black star was attracting all creation with an unseen force. Seawater, the beach's sand, soil, trees, stones, rocks, river water, the island's ground—

  The invisible gravity was going to draw all creation into the black star.

  This force became wind, forming a tornado, resulting in a gravitational storm, blowing madly across this island in the demonic realm. All sorts of existences on the ground were sucked into the black star's interior.

  The only ones unaffected by the storm of gravity were Yuri and Godou who held Ama no Murakumo no Ts
urugi up high.

  Only these two's immediate surroundings remained calm and tranquil, allowing them to stand as before. Also, despite the current fragmented state of Godou's mind, he did not forget a certain matter.

  The existence of the enemy. The Fire Goddess who had brought much pain and suffering upon him and his companions—

  She must be sucked in as well, to be imprisoned in the cage of the black star.

  Godou directed his awareness towards the goddess' silhouette located opposite to the gravitational storm. He pinpointed the presence of the mysterious goddess over on the other side, in order to pull her in!

  '!? Unbelievable—!?'

  The goddess' distant location must have made her inattentive. Her panicking voice resounded across the sky.

  Godou transmitted his thoughts to Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi and the black star. Pull her over. Suck her in. Crush her!

  'Guh, what authority is this!? Kusanagi-sama, please allow me to take my leave for now. To think that my territory would collapse in this fashion—you are truly terrifying!'

  The Fire Goddess' fearful whispers could be heard from afar.

  The storm of gravity continued to blow in Godou and Yuri's surroundings while the black star overhead kept sucking in everything on the ground. But Godou also reached his limit at this point.

  Was this because of the horrifying burden imposed on the mind and psyche by Athena's legacy technique of heaven and earth's creation?

  As if his batteries were drained, Godou lost consciousness.

  The storm-summoning black blade, bringing the beginning and the end to heaven and earth. Its seal had merely been lifted here, yet to truly ascend to becoming Kusanagi Godou's weapon.

  Meanwhile, the other girls who had already realized the danger—

  As soon as the storm of gravity appeared, Liliana had immediately invoked flight magic.

  Taking flight while carrying Erica, the silver-haired knight subsequently picked up Ena and swiftly escaped from the island of the demonic realm.

  Standing in the eye of the storm, Kusanagi Godou and Mariya Yuri's figures could not be confirmed visually.

  Liliana groaned "guh" softly and immediately gave up on rescuing the two of them. Enveloped in blue light together with Erica and Ena, she flew them back towards the city of Kota Kinabalu.

  Afterwards, the storm of gravity proceeded to fully unleash its mighty power.

  The storm must have blown for dozens of minutes. During this time, the island where the goddess and the divine beasts lived was completely blown away and wiped off the surface of the ocean.

  Kusanagi Godou and Athena's secret technique, the gravitational storm caused by Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, destroyed an island completely.

  Moreover, only the emerald-green sea and a bit of reef remained in the coastal region around the formerly existing island. The perpetrators, Godou and Yuri, were also nowhere to be found.

  Meanwhile, at the same moment as when the storm of gravity finally calmed down—

  The location was a certain forest in the French region of Brittany. Deep in this forest by a certain lakeside, a silver-haired girl looked up into the sky. Watching the winter constellations with her eyes of darkness, she listened carefully with her ears.

  But she had no idea why.

  Miraculously, she could sense the presence of a storm created in a faraway region of the ocean.

  "Hmph. Guided by ill fate, an encounter with this goddess lieth in the future... Verily, this destiny summoned a storm, has it not?"

  These words rolled over the tip of her tongue like fine wine.

  Slowly and carefully, she savored the premonition of the inevitable battle.

  Chapter 6 - The Two Who Were Washed Away...?

  Part 1

  New Year's Day had passed. It was roughly 4pm on January 2.

  Before Kusanagi Godou were the vast emerald-green South Seas.

  Furthermore, currently beneath some trees in a white beach's shaded corner, he was staring into the eyes of his one and only companion—Mariya Yuri.

  They were both dressed in swimwear. Apart from that, Godou was wearing a shirt while Yuri had a windbreaker. From a bystander's point of view, these two probably looked like a Japanese couple enjoying a swim at the beach.

  But that could not be further from the truth. After forging the "black blade" and destroying the island of the demonic realm using a deadly gravitational storm, only mere hours had passed.

  After that, the two found themselves collapsed on this beach by the time they regained their senses.

  Other than physical exhaustion and severe depletion of magic, their bodies showed no abnormal symptoms and one could consider them safe and sound. (Godou also owed his current vigor to Yuri's casting of healing magic back when performing the ritual.)

  But it was true that they were currently on an unknown beach somewhere.

  They had already frantically investigated their surroundings accordingly.

  "Simply for the fact that this is Malaysian territory and inhabited, we are already quite fortunate. But let alone an airport, this is a remote island where ships only come once every three days..."

  Godou muttered with deep feeling.

  The only person around was a Caucasian male surfing in the distance. This was not a usual tourist destination for enjoying a swim at the beach. After all, this place was terrible in terms of transportation.

  Locals had explained that only experienced surfers and scuba divers considered this a good place to visit.

  As a remote island somewhere in the South China Sea, the population was definitely less than a thousand.

  "Since this is Malaysia, at least the money exchanged beforehand can still be used."

  Yuri nodded. The two of them were still wearing the same clothes as when they were swept away by the sea.

  Could one consider this fortune amidst misfortune? The windbreaker Yuri had put on at the island's beach was suitable for both hiking and protection from wind. Furthermore, her purse was in her pocket.

  Not only coins and paper tender but also US dollars and Japanese yen, very precious in many aspects, were kept in there.

  "But there isn't much in total, so we can't afford to waste any."

  "If we are returning to Borneo, we must reserve enough money for that trip."

  A regular ship came by once every three days on schedule. The one from this morning had already departed just earlier.

  In other words, the next ship would arrive three days later. Godou and Yuri had to think of a way to survive on their limited cash.

  Things would be fine as soon as they contacted relevant parties of interest, but neither of them had their cellphone. In other words, without a contact list, they had no numbers to call.

  "I must apologize. I cannot even remember my home telephone or Kaoru-san's number..."

  "I haven't memorized any useful contact info either. Don't worry. Oh well, we'll just cross our bridges as they come."

  Godou comforted Yuri in her depression.

  He knew that being technologically incompetent, Yuri even went as far as to avoid her home telephone. Hence it was only natural for her to be unfamiliar with that string of numbers. Although Godou knew his own home number, there was no way he would tell his mother about his current situation.

  "Erica and the rest must be trying to track down our location."

  Godou's memories of swinging the black blade were quite hazy.

  But he could still vaguely recall seeing the blue light of flight magic. Not only Liliana, but Erica and Ena were together with her as well, so the trio should be safe.

  "But to think it had the power to blow away an entire island..."

  "I'm sorry. As expected, with me in control instead of a goddess, simply unsheathing the sword already exhausted all my strength... Looks like it's quite hard to control..."

  Recalling the catastrophe from several hours earlier, the two of them hung their heads at the same time.

  Furthermore
, although Godou tried to attack the goddess back then, she should have most likely escaped. Indeed, trying to use the black blade as a weapon in the current situation seemed quite challenging.

  "Well, in any case, I'll have to trouble you for now, Mariya. I'll be in your care."

  Without a single penny in his pocket, Godou naturally had to turn to Yuri.

  It was still unknown how long the duo would have to live here. The one holding the purse strings during this time would be Yuri. Of course, Godou intended to split costs and pay her back afterwards.

  But Yuri stiffened her expression and declared sternly:

  "No such thing. Since this is an emergency situation, the money here belongs to both of us. Please do not say 'I'll be in your care' or anything of that sort."

  "No, this is only right."

  "Then I should be the one to say it instead. Godou-san, although I may be unworthy, please let us get along well during this time."

  This time, Yuri bowed her head and deliberately knelt down formally on the sand in seiza posture.

  The Hime-Miko's seriousness made Godou quite flustered. Then as she looked up and their gazes met, they both burst out laughing.

  The two of them found their polite behavior hilarious.

  After that, Godou and Yuri went shopping in the grocery stores by the coast.

  Clothes such as t-shirts. Daily necessities. Sweetened buns and mineral water for a belated lunch.

  In a certain way, the current situation resembled the beginning phase of an RPG.

  Having bought their equipment, it was time to find a place to stay for the night. There was only one choice in this regard.

  This remote island was not a tourist destination. From what they heard, a set of cottages by the sea was the only room and board facility. No better hotel existed on the island.

  Although it was a little problematic, the pair decided on the cottages as their accommodations then went out for dinner.

  Even choices in this area were quite few. A diner-style place was the only eatery near the cottage. Without any hesitation, Godou and Yuri entered.

  Yuri ordered ethnic style fried rice—nasi goreng.

  As for Godou, his order appeared to be curry cooked with a white fish resembling Spanish mackerel. Containing okra and eggplant, the flavor of the fish stock came out particularly well.