Campione 01

by Heretic God

  It didn't matter.

  That sword was forged from indestructible steel. Even after melting in the fire, it would still resurrect like a phoenix.

  "Kusanagi Godou, thou would sneak attack Defiant God Athena! Damn thee, to own a title as hateful as devil king, one never guessed thou art so contemptible!"

  "Stop blaming others! It's because you underestimated humanity that brought about your own demise!"

  After been hit by the silver strike and falling to her knees, Athena was swallowed by the white flames.

  Part 4

  After several minutes, the white flames finally burned out, and the dawning light to the east also vanished.

  The black night returned.

  Yes, countless streetlights now illuminated the roads and streets, and light from the skyscrapers leaked out from the windows—everything had returned to that old semi-darkness.

  Godou let go of the breath he held and stared into the night sky.

  The half-moon and numerous stars twinkled in their light.

  Even if he ignored his real feelings, he still couldn't claim Tokyo's night sky to be beautiful. Maybe tens of years had made him used to it, but the current feel wasn't bad either.

  Nevertheless, the duel had ended.

  First he should hurry home and take a shower, then sleep in relaxation. Taking care of the aftermath could wait for later.

  "How was it Godou? That fight just now, I think receiving the Best Supporting Actress Award won't be an exaggeration."

  Two girls walked into the once fierce battlefield.

  One was a graceful blonde Italian, while the other was a Japanese who wore a miko outfit and looked very serious for some reason.

  "If I could manage it, you can have however many awards you want, even an award ceremony is fine."

  Godou replied as he sat down cross-legged on the wilted grass.

  Even he was exhausted.

  But, although his body should be injured all over and wracked by pain, he felt none of it, and even the serious wound on his chest had begun to heal. The recovery ability of a godslayer's body was still inhumanly high.

  However......

  The catastrophe in this garden, he had caused half of it.

  Just how many people could still recognize this as the Hamarikyu Gardens?

  He wasn't sure when, but a massive crater had appeared on the ground.

  The pine forest that remained since the Edo period, the numerous kinds of colorful flowers in the gardens, they were all ruined by the fight between him and Athena.

  —Godou reflected deeply; he had gone too far again.

  "So, how should we deal with this troublesome goddess? I think I should hurry and give her a final blow."

  "......I second that. If we leave Athena like this, she will definitely become the source of more disaster one day, so we should naturally take preventative measures."

  Erica suggested that as if she was taunting. Although Yuri looked like it was hard for her to express it, she nevertheless agreed.

  The one they stared at was an Athena who looked like a little girl that sat on the ground after throwing a tantrum.

  Maybe it was because she was burned by the flames of the [White Stallion], or maybe it was because she had expended too much divine power, but the mother goddess of darkness had shrunk, returning to the little girl look she had several hours ago.

  She was truly a goddess with the divine trait of immortality. Even though she was just consumed by flames, she had already resurrected.

  Of course, even Godou doubted the kind of attack just then could have completely killed her.

  Although she was already deprived of her combat ability, she still had a fearsome vitality.

  "Mariya-san, what you just spoke of, was that from your usual power? Through your intuition as a miko, or some similar ability?"

  "No, just the thought of a normal person...... for something like this, even those who aren't miko would decide that way."

  Yuri's reply relieved the weight on Godou's heart.

  Even though he would arrive at the same conclusion with an ill prediction, Godou nevertheless felt relieved.

  "Then, let's part here...... Athena, did you hear me? These people want to finish you off; you better hurry and leave this country."

  "—Why would thee not finish one off? Slaying one would allow thee to usurp new powers, becomest an even more powerful godslayer; why would thee abandon such a good opportunity?"

  After hearing the angry words of an unimpressed Athena, Godou couldn't help but reply with a frustrated and tired voice:

  "I don't want these weird powers; the ones I already have are hard enough to deal with. Besides, how could I kill someone just because I beat them in a fight; I'm a civilized man you know."

  "What?"

  "I said, I'm not some god born during the Bronze or Iron Ages. It's the twenty-first century now, we don't have the habit of taking the life of another after winning a duel; don't push those ancient practices onto me."

  After suppressing Erica and Yuri's desire to interject with his sight, Godou continued:

  "Although I've always won competitions, I've never thought of killing the defeated opponent. If you won't accept that, then let's go with this: the saying goes 'the winner takes all, while the loser is obliged to obey the victor'...... can you accept that?"

  Godou asked the shrunken Athena.

  The goddess held her silence for a long time before she spoke at last:

  "......Very well, the defeated should obey the orders of the victor. One knows not if we shall fight again, please take care of thyself; destiny willing, we shall meet again one day."

  As Athena stood up, her silver hair swayed.

  "The man who had defeated one, one shall always remember thy name—goodbye, Kusanagi Godou!"

  Turning her back towards Godou and the group, Athena slowly departed.

  Once she could no longer see Athena's small shadow, Erica intentionally sighed:

  "Godou, you know, even if you defeat [Heretic Gods], your authorities won't increase if you don't take their lives?"

  "Don't talk about killing so casually. Besides, even if we defeated those gods, they can resurrect like nothing had happened, how can we manage that so easily?"

  Godou replied seriously, refuting the simple explanation his partner offered.

  To those people, resurrection and rebirth was an everyday thing, so they were all immortal monsters. With such a blessing, he could go all out on the offensive without worrying about harming the opponent.

  "Even though you say that, you never actually considered killing her right? Eh, I originally planned to help Godou quickly become independent, but if this keeps up; our future doesn't look very bright."

  "I don't want to become any more of a monster, so don't make decisions for me with such an uncaring attitude...... right, is Mariya-san alright? She still looks really weak."

  Godou asked about Yuri who was still staring at him with cold eyes.

  When he left, she was still very gentle; why was she like a mine that was about to explode now?

  She must not be feeling well. That was natural, since he had asked too much of her earlier.

  Godou focused his sight on Yuri's countenance.

  "My body really doesn't have any problems; I'm really grateful that Kusanagi-san was able to come save me just then."

  A chilly tone.

  Behind her polite words laid a cold expression.

  ......Was she really angry? Then he should hurry and apologize; Godou continuously pondered over how he might defend himself. Although it was really shameful, but it was also a desperate matter of survival.

  "Mariya-san, I'm really sorry for causing you so much trouble over this incident."

  Godou bowed his head, realizing that even his waist had bent over.

  What a disaster.

  He wasn't sure if the gesture was enough. Would he still get scolded? He felt extremely uneasy about it. But Yuri didn't care about thi
s at all; instead she began to berate him over something totally unexpected.

  "No, I don't mind about that; it's because of Kusanagi-san that I met such extreme circumstances, but you also saved me, so I don't mind. Aside from that, there is something else I would like to ask you."

  She revealed a dark smile just like several hours ago.

  For it to reveal itself on Yuri's beautiful face yet again...... is really frightening.

  "You are a true devil king—one who wields the authority of a real godslayer. But, these powers aren't for you to do whatever you want with. What do you think over this?"

  "Uhh...... about this...... I think you're completely right."

  "Then, why don't you watch your surroundings more! These gardens are ruined, and just how do you plan to take care of what happened over there?"

  Yuri pointed sternly towards what was in front of them.

  Godou glanced over the distant view and froze as he saw the tragic appearance in the night sky.

  "Uhhh......"

  The rooftops of several skyscrapers that reached into the heavens—

  Two-thirds of those roofs had been sliced off, completely gone just like butter sticks that were cut by a knife.

  Furthermore, the same happened to the elevated highways of the Capital Expressway.

  Entire sections of the road were missing, just like icicles melted by a blowtorch, entire road portions had vanished without a sight.

  The flames of the [White Stallion] that descended from the heavens must have caused this.

  Because of the ultra-high temperature, the destroyed highway had the appearance of being melted near the edges; but this wasn't candy or cream or ice, but reinforced concrete.

  "If it's like that, they should be able to just repair the melted sections right?"

  "Who knows? Even if it can be, it'll be extremely difficult; just building construction scaffolding on top of those skyscrapers will be problematic enough."

  Erica and Godou discussed as though they were casually chatting.

  The former didn't see this as that serious of a problem, while the latter only chose this tone of talking to escape reality.

  "Didn't I tell you this morning? You don't watch your surroundings enough; it hasn't even been a day yet and you still managed to do this."

  As the only person present with common sense and moral integrity, Yuri coldly spoke out:

  "And you're too low, too dirty, a complete pervert! For someone as indecent, lascivious, and imprudent as you to get the power of the devil king, I doubt this world will last much longer! I really misjudged you; sure, I thought at the time that you were a reliable and honest man, but I was being too naive. Talk about a complete disappointment."

  "That, Mariya-san...... what low, indecent stuff; that doesn't seem right—"

  Faced with this strangely agitated miko before him, Godou timidly responded.

  Yet a razor-sharp glare cut him off.

  "Really, Kusanagi-san, you've already forgotten what you were doing this quickly? Erica-san is Italian so I won't speak of it, but you're a Japanese man; how could you do something so low, so dirty, you should properly reflect just what shame is!"

  "Huh? What do you mean? I, did I do something strange?"

  "Did you seriously forget? Such a passionate—eh, that warm k-kiss, to actually do something so shameless!"

  Now, Godou finally understand the reason why Yuri was so angry.

  But he was also very troubled at the same time.

  He wasn't good at explaining himself, and it would be very hard to clarify that it was a magic necessary to defeat Athena; it would be best to leave this to his more charismatic partner.

  He begged Erica with his eyes, before he realized too late that this was like digging his own grave.

  "Hehe, so Yuri didn't like that move. You really are late to mature...... At the beginning, Godou didn't feel much differently~~"

  What was she saying, 'at the beginning' was completely unnecessary!

  "Since ancient times, wasn't a girl's kiss the best blessing for departing brave warriors? So I gave him strength this way. Godou was shy at first, but now, he couldn't even fight anymore unless I did this—it's really worrisome."

  As he listened to Erica's explanation, Godou realized what utter despair tasted like.

  Although it wasn't really a lie, but the malicious explanation completely twisted the facts and deliberately hid the truth.

  "No, it's not like that, Mariya-san, it's actually......"

  "If it's an excuse, then that won't be necessary; I already understand what's going on."

  "By understand you mean—"

  "Being tempted by Erica-san like that, Kusanagi-san must have been obedient every time. Right? I understand these things very well, since Kusanagi-san is also a man; as long as your lover coaxes you, you'd do her every bidding."

  No explanation would be accepted.

  Yuri smiled as she said these words, her expression beautiful yet frigid, accompanied by a cold emotionless expression.

  "It's already late tonight, so I won't say any more, but please visit Nanao Shrine tomorrow. I won't need to mind the time then, so I'll properly educate you tomorrow—because I need to seriously teach you these things, so you better come alone. Definitely do not bring your lover there."

  She gave him a heartless verdict with her steely tone.

  Yielding to the overwhelming pressure, Godou couldn't help but agree involuntarily.

  Hamarikyu Gardens: a public park located at the mouth of the Sumida river, surrounded by a seawater moat and built from what was once a Tokugawa family villa.

  Tsukiji District: tsukiji literally means 'reclaimed land', and although multiple Japanese cities have such an area, none of them are as famous as Tokyo's.

  Marie Antoinette: Queen of France executed during the French Revolution, known for her corrupt, selfish, and gaudy lifestyle with an inability to understand the common folk.

  Let them eat cake: famous line supposedly said by Marie Antoinette in response to those who complained of having no bread to eat, although historians believe this to be a byproduct of dramatized journalism.

  Isis and Ishtar: Isis is the Egyptian goddess of compassion, nature, and magic, often viewed as the ideal mother and wife, as well as a friend to the downtrodden, the sinners, and the slaves; Ishtar is the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, war, love, and sex, known as a fickle lover who also unleashed the Bull of Heaven upon Gilgamesh for refusing her love in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

  Indra: King of the gods and god of storms, rainfall, and war in Hindu mythology, and associated with Vajrapani, the chief protector of the Buddha.

  Defiant God: as Heretic God, both written as 'Disobedient God' in raws, but since heretics never refer to themselves as heretics, Athena's use of 'Heretic' will be converted to 'Defiant'.

  Mithra: the Zoroastrian god of covenant and oath, a god of judgment and all-seeing protector of truth, guardian of cattle, harvest, and water elements.

  Pegasus: the winged horse; according to Greek Mythology, Medusa was impregnated by Poseidon and when the hero Perseus beheaded and killed her, Pegasus and Chrysaor, a golden-sworded giant, burst from her body.

  Hera, Aphrodite: Hera was the sister of Zeus and goddess of women and marriage; Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love, pleasure, and beauty.

  Apollo: Greek god of the sun, truth and prophesy, healing and plague, and patron of the fine arts; son of Zeus and Leto, he is one of the most important and idealized deities of Greece.

  Epilogue

  The battle with Athena took place during the night hours of Saturday morning.

  Just like any normal company, Kusanagi Godou's Jounan Academy was also having an off day for today. It was originally going to be a restful and relaxing day, spent to recover his battle wounds—a leisure day like that.

  But he had received a fierce scolding during the meeting between him and Mariya Yuri, to the point that both his mind and body felt bared to th
e bones.

  Still he tried his best.

  He was a righteous person who would do his best to peacefully resolve problems regardless of how difficult they were. Furthermore, what he did with Erica last night was indispensable for seizing the upper hand during his fight.

  These were all sincerely explained to the best of his abilities.

  But Yuri's response was still cold.

  "So that's how, that's how it was. But from Kusanagi-san's point of view, as long as these efforts were displayed through the results; even if you say this is another effort—"

  It still hadn't finished.

  "Is that how....... Kusanagi-san, is this excuse your idea? Or is it Erica's? Don't you feel it's rather ridiculous? Such unrealistic, convenient reasons should be moderated at least. Don't think that some nonsense excuse could fool me."

  Not a single way out was offered.

  The result was three continuous hours of cold, nonstop scolding; he really learned his lesson in full this time.

  Face to face with the beautiful yet harsh girl, alone with just the two of them, the entire time had felt like he was sitting on needles......

  Yuri ended up being cold the entire day, her words filled with barbs.

  Despite this, Godou was very thankful that she cared for him over so many little details.

  Sometimes when her words ended, she would ask Godou about his body's condition.

  "Are you really...... alright? Though your body is really strong and different from usual people, but isn't there still a chance of something going wrong?...... it's hard to believe that you're already fully healed, just completely abnormal in every way, but such a weird thing only happens because you're an absurd person like that!"

  She berated him with seeming anger.

  Though it wasn't very frank, but Godou knew it was because she worried over him.

  Even though she was in mortal peril yesterday, she still worried over others more than herself; she really was a kind and strong girl.

  —So no matter how angry or how cold she was to him, it was all a sign of consideration to Godou.

  Thinking this way, Godou bowed and apologized seriously even at the end of all the scolding.

  Sometimes halfway through her speech, Yuri blushed and revealed a troubled impression: "this was a little too much......" fidgeting somewhat in embarrassment.