The "King of the End" did not reach for the divine sword in front of him.
Still with his iconic sword stabbed in the ground, he issued a declaration of war in a stern and dignified voice:
"Kusanagi Godou, it is my hope that you will join your elder sister so as to have a rematch with me. Given how I am now, I should be able to satisfy you more than in past battles."
"I don't care about the past. I wasn't unsatisfied at all!"
Grumbling against the other side's unnecessary concerns, Godou looked back at the Divine Ancestor.
During the unusual conversation between the hero and the demonic cult leader, she had kept silent with good reason.
Her life was on the very verge of ending. Panting painfully, staying conscious was all Pallas Athena could do.
If she were to fight in this state, the lightning of salvation would quickly strike her down—
(King, summon her to this place. Interesting things ought to be possible if her power was present.)
Residing in his right arm, the partner offered a suggestion.
Godou nodded immediately and summoned Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, meanwhile saying to Pallas Athena:
"Athena—Enter my sword here! This is the weapon you've conferred power to in the past!"
There was nothing wrong with this description. Godou deliberately called her by her former name.
Hence, the Divine Ancestor instantly recovered light in her eyes. Then releasing her young girl's form, she turned into a silver snake, measuring 50cm in length, and swiftly entered the divine sword.
Held in Godou's right hand, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi had a jet-black blade.
This was the steel sword that the ancient Japanese god Susanoo had found in the Eight-Forked Serpent's tail, a weapon whose origin was intimately tied to snakes. In addition, several months earlier, the goddess Athena had also imparted the [Storm Bringer Technique] directly into Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi—
Precisely due to the effects of these prior causes, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi was able to absorb the Divine Ancestor, who had taken the form of a silver snake, into itself.
Godou nodded. Deciding to leave the rest to his partner, he returned Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi back to his right arm again for now.
"Nee-san, that guy's greatest weapon is lightning. We have to guard against that first."
"Know your place as the younger brother, Godou. It is a hundred years too early for you to worry about me!"
"That's true, I guess. Then I take it back. Allow me to rely on you, Nee-san!"
The Divine Sword Mandala overhead was beginning to speed up.
Rising upwards rapidly and steadily, it ascended to roughly the same height as the sparse clouds floating in the night sky. Also, the Divine Sword Mandala also expanded in area at the same time.
The square-shaped magic circle grew in size until it was six or seven kilometers in length.
Then the Divine Sword Mandala finally started to release lightning from the formation in the sky.
Countless flashes of lightning rained down from the sky like a heavy downpour. Not limited to the area around Godou and Luo Cuilian, the lightning also fell equally on the surrounding mountain range.
Godou instantly invoked the [Raptor].
Verethragna's seventh incarnation conferred divine speed. Despite its time limit and many inconveniences such as loss of mobility after use, this ability was the most effective means to evade the lightning.
Using divine speed, Godou raced across the land where massive holes were being gouged out by the platinum-colored lightning falling like a heavy rainstorm. While dodging the descending lightning left and right, he ran towards the "King of the End." In order to survive this crisis, the main culprit must be defeated first—
This was the same tactic as what Godou had used in ancient Gaul last time.
Using the same divine speed as back then, Godou closed in on the "King of the End." Right when he arrived at a couple dozen meters away, the same figure appeared as last time.
The masked war god, whose body was completely wrapped in strips of white cloth, also a user of divine speed, the Wind King!
(He came just as expected huh!?)
Godou yelled. However, no ordinary human would be able to hear him.
People in the normal world were unable to hear sounds produced by entities moving at divine speed. In spite of that, Godou heard a voice responding to him.
(Watch your elder sister's divine might carefully, O little brother.)
Luo Cuilian's beautiful voice—unbelievably—it was coming from Godou's shadow on the ground. Seeing that Godou was about to dash with divine speed, she had invoked her Daoist arts instantly, thereby hitching a ride on Godou's shadow—Probably some kind of trick along those lines. Furthermore, she was capable of discerning phenomena moving at divine speed as though it were the most natural thing in the world, even going as far as to carry a conversation casually. Godou smiled wryly.
Totally absurd. Indeed, it was a hundred years too early for him to be worrying about the sworn sister.
Wielding a single-edged greatsword, the Wind King slashed at Godou!
(Fist of the Tiger-Quelling Luohan!)
Accompanied by Luo Cuilian's spell words, a fist flew out from under Godou.
A straight punch performed by a muscular arm of bronze. Compared to the 180cm tall Godou, it was a thick arm at least double his size. Shooting out from the ground, the arm included the fist up to the elbow and struck the war god of wind with an uppercut.
This was the mighty arm created by the sworn elder sister's authority, Divine Might of Vajrapani. Furthermore, the martial arts involved, counterattacking the Wind King who was obstructing them while moving at divine speed, were of unparalleled mastery. This level of unarmed combat belonged to grandmasters of martial arts, surpassing even a certain Salvatore Doni.
The war god's body was blown away like ignited fireworks, flying towards the stars in the night sky.
Or perhaps he was going to fly out of the universe? That was the astounding speed with which the Wind King ascended through the air. A superlative feat that only Luo Cuilian's divine might was capable of achieving.
But even so, the war god of steel had not suffered a critical wound.
While flying high in the air, the Wind King tossed something down at the ground. It was the divine artifact made from a gold-iron alloy—the [Arrowhead's Discus].
(My, how long it has been, godslayer of my homeland!)
The Discus suddenly took on the form of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, descending upon Godou's with divine speed.
He even used the momentum of the fall to swing the Ruyi Jingu Staff. Godou jumped to the right, dodging the attack in the nick of time.
(Isn't this the Great Sage Equaling Heaven? Why is he present when he was supposed to have died?)
(It's apparently a power to summon heroes. That medallion causes slain gods to revive. Apart from the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, two other gods whom I know have also revived!)
Godou reported briefly in response to Her Eminence's surprise.
During this time, the lightning did not stop, continuing to fall like a heavy rainstorm.
Evasion. Evasion. Evasion. Evasion. Evasion. Evasion.
While Godou was using divine speed to jump and dash, just as he evaded the sixth bolt of lightning, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven attacked again.
He suddenly appeared on Godou's left, swinging the Ruyi Staff horizontally from the side. What blocked him was a giant arm of bronze extending out from Godou's shadow underfoot.
(How impetuous you are, Great Sage!)
(Sorry Nee-san, thanks for saving me!)
(Huhahaha. You guys are hard to kill as ever!)
The Great Sage, laughing heartily with delight, versus Godou who had barely escaped a crisis. Neither side paused at all. After all, the lightning of salvation kept descending nonstop. Even when running at divine speed, stopping for an instant would mean getting devour
ed by lightning.
Nevertheless, Godou dashed while biding his time, trying to approach the "King of the End."
The Great Sage Equaling Heaven was probably trying to harass and occupy Godou, preventing him from getting near.
(Why isn't it all three of you this time!? What happened to Lancelot and Perseus!?)
(Nonsense. My presence alone is enough already!)
(Most likely, by concentrating the divine power for summoning a hero, it would further reinforce the divinity's strength.)
Luo Cuilian's voice came from the shadow underfoot.
(Reviving dead gods on the mortal plane is a monumental miracle overturning the laws of heaven, earth and the underworld. It is difficult to believe that the revived will be as strong as when they were still alive. Presumably, by using the divine artifact seen earlier as a power source, the Great Sage's strength could be restored to its former heights!)
(Exactly. Since the clairvoyant Daoist priestess is here, I have to be cautious!)
While muttering, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven also dodged lightning and continued to harass Godou nonstop.
Trying to find an opening, he swung the Ruyi Staff. Meanwhile, he was also warily watching Godou's feet, staying on guard for Luo Cuilian lurking in Godou's shadow. The surprise attack earlier was probably not going to work again.
Godou frowned and looked at the "King of the End."
While running at full speed, Godou tried his best to stay within thirty or forty meters of that man.
Luckily, the sworn elder sister had sent the Wind King flying to the stratosphere, if Godou could seize this opportunity to successfully reach the—
However, the hero using the divine sword whispered dangerous spell words.
"I offer my prayers to the noble king of lightning, the warrior who mastered the use of all weapons. I implore you to awaken in my hand at this very moment... the supreme bow of might that you bestowed upon me in the past."
The lightning giving everyone a hard time suddenly ceased.
Floating high in the air, the Divine Sword Mandala stopped its indiscriminate attacks towards the ground.
But instead—RUMBLE! RUMBLE! Two bolts of lightning descended, accompanied by two giant roars of thunder.
Unbelievably, these two flashes of lightning were targeting the "King of the End."
However, the pale-haired aristocrat easily absorbed the scorching heat and impact.
Then immediately, a massive bow of steel manifested in his left hand. Furthermore, a quiver holding dozens of arrows also appeared by his feet.
The energy of the lightning was most likely converted into that large bow and quiver!
"In my current state of full power, achieved through the great ritual of the covenant—"
The pale-haired aristocrat was speaking in a refreshing and sonorous voice.
Even to the ears of Godou who was under the effects of divine speed, this voice still sounded unbelievably pleasant. A bright voice that permeated the ears and hearts of the listeners. Or perhaps this might be part of his authority.
"—I can unseal the most powerful weaponry, the bow and its quiver. Kusanagi Godou and Your Highness Luo Hao. You are about to face this bow and these arrows."
Speaking in a very modest tone of voice, the "King of the End" readied the massive bow of steel.
Godou trembled. Speaking of which, hadn't he heard this before? The "King of the End" was an endlessly wandering hero with deep ties to the bow and arrows.
Furthermore, as though to corroborate Godou's memory, the earth began to shake.
Simply holding up the bow caused an earthquake. Roughly three or four on the Richter scale. At this moment, the "King of the End" closed his eyes unexpectedly.
In order to pierce Godou and Luo Hao who were dashing at divine speed, he was using the mind's eye!
"Legend tells of a great hero who shot down nine suns during antiquity at a kingdom in the orient. The arrows he fired had vanished along with the falling suns, but a master craftsman of the celestial realm was able to create an arrow for replicating the great feat."
The Devil King exterminating hero held up the steel bow in his left hand. Then using his right hand, he took out a jet-black arrow from the quiver by his foot.
Seeing this, the Great Sage instantly made a retracting motion with his head once and performed a somersault. Then he vanished just like that. He probably retreated to avoid getting caught in the attack.
Hovering in the air, the Divine Sword Mandala stopped firing lightning randomly.
It was like a soldier settling into silence to avoid obstructing the great general who was about to shoot an arrow.
"This is merely a counterfeit arrow, insufficient to shoot down the sun. However, it can still bring forth massive firepower when released towards the ground... Let us first begin with this level of power."
The "King of the End" finally nocked the jet-black arrow on the bowstring.
At this instant, Godou felt a chill down his back and started to run as fast as he could. With his back towards the hero and the jet-black arrow, he pulled his distance back as fast as he could using divine speed.
This was a Campione's usual intuition. At this rate—He was definitely going to die beyond a doubt.
Besides, even as fellow users of divine speed, didn't the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, capable of flying through the air, flee for his life as well?
(Nee-san, can you help me out as well!?)
(You leave me no choice but to spoil you. In that case, go up!)
Godou had been running all over the mountain ridge just now.
Using divine speed—the same speed as lightning—in almost one breath, he rushed over to the sloping surface of the peak with its sparse greenery, coming to a barren pinnacle where there was only solid rock.
(Jump, Godou!)
Hearing the command from underfoot, Godou jumped as hard as he could.
While using the [Raptor] incarnation, he was able to perform light and acrobatic movements as though his feet were winged. Through this leap, Godou jumped into the sky higher than the mountaintop.
The Minamibousou mountains were generally not very high, standing roughly three or four hundred meters above sea level.
This peak was the same. But compared to the land below, this was quite a sufficient height already. Having leapt into the night sky, Godou's excellent night vision allowed him to see the settlements scattered among the low-altitude mountains as well as artificial lighting appearing in the darkness of the night.
Furthermore, the sworn sister's resident shadow was still adhering firmly to Godou's feet.
Turning his head to look behind him while feeling impressed—Godou witnessed the jet-black arrow flying towards him in the air.
Clearly. the arrow was even faster than the lightning of salvation.
No matter how hard Godou ran to escape, it was surely going to pierce him. Just as Godou was about to be shot as an aerial target, the sworn sister's aid arrived in the nick of time.
(O north wind, sweeping across the vast lands, flying over countless miles!)
Spell words of flight.
Immediately, emerging from the shadow, Luo Cuilian caught Godou in her arms while in midair.
Then enveloped in golden light, the two of them soared upwards rapidly. This variant of Daoist arts seemed to belong to the same system as the flight magic used by Liliana.
In addition, the jet-black arrow pursuing them—suddenly exploded.
Platinum light erupted under their gaze, producing a large explosion affecting an area several kilometers in diameter. The mountain range of Minamibousou was spectacularly and tragically blown apart.
Part 3
"What's with this crazy huge firepower when he clearly said he didn't want to use excessive force?"
While relying on his sworn sister's power to fly through the sky, Godou temporarily deactivated his divine speed.
The scene of the giant explosion was spreading under his gaze. I
t was almost like a meteor crash. Meanwhile, the sworn sister was using Daoist arts effortlessly, flying with Godou in her arms while looking down at the massive explosion.
"The 'King of the End' is truly a formidable foe with astounding power... Godou, your trump card is still being prepared, isn't it?"
"I can't believe you already noticed that..."
Suddenly asked, Godou felt surprised.
"I clearly had it set to take place as secretly as possible."
"Don't underestimate your elder sister. Do know that I have been constantly by your side ever since my arrival, yes? I only stayed in the shadow the whole time in order to assess how much power my sworn little brother has gained since we last parted."
Looking at the side of Luo Hao's smiling face, Godou went "I see" and nodded.
He had definitely felt baffled by what would be considered a slightly subdued way of fighting for the elder sister with unparalleled arm strength. So this was her intent after all.
"So Godou, how goes the preparations?"
"Almost ready. But actually, I've attacked the 'King of the End' in the past using the same method. Although it went quite well last time... That was when that guy was in an incomplete state."
Godou recalled the battle in ancient Gaul and muttered.
"To be honest, I've no confidence whether it's gonna work on him when he's in peak condition."
"Be that as it may... It would be foolish to hesitate when no trump card of assured victory is available. What sort of power the enemy brings forth to block the strongest move from your arsenal—The result of that can serve as a yardstick for gauging differences in power level."
"Differences in power level..."
"This, too, is my first showdown against a war god who is this powerful. In fact, even I have trouble determining the exact extent of his strength."
"Even you're not sure!?"
Godou found it unbelievable that even Her Eminence Luo Hao, whose capabilities and experienced judgment were at the highest pinnacle, would say something like this.
Godou calmed himself. After all, attacks conducted via petty tricks were not going to be effective. Despite the risk of suffering a vicious counterattack in return, it was definitely the moment to take a slight gamble.
Campione! - Volume 17 - The Hero's Name Page 8
