Campione! - Volume 17 - The Hero's Name

by Taketsuki Jou

  "Understood. Nee-san, I'll do everything I can first then I'll rely on you when I'm overwhelmed. Does that work?"

  "Certainly. Believe in me and exert yourself to your full extent."

  Luo Cuilian replied, filled with spirit.

  "If by any chance should you perish in the end, upon our bonds as sworn siblings, I shall avenge you or die trying!"

  Godou desperately resisted the urge to laugh at the sworn sister's words. If this were battle manga aimed at a youth audience, an irresponsible declaration of "I will surely protect you" would be the proper thing to say now, but of course, this kind of idea could not possibly exist in Luo Cuilian's mind.

  Understanding that from the bottom of his heart, Godou simultaneously looked down at the world below.

  The giant explosion caused by the jet-black arrow had already subsided, leaving a massive crater in the Minamibousou mountain range with a diameter of several kilometers. A truly surreal scene.

  Currently, Godou was flying with his sworn sister at roughly a height of four or five hundred meters.

  Despite the chilling wind that would freeze one to the very bones, his body of a Campione's felt scorching hot instead. This was due to battle instincts making the entire body's blood boil.

  "Nee-san, I'm counting on you!"

  Responding to this request, the sworn sister began to make a rapid descent.

  At the same time, her figure disappeared while maintaining the flight spell. Turning into a shadow once more, this time, she adhered to Godou's back.

  Flying above the giant crater, they were approaching the ground at high speed.

  The yellow light created by Luo Cuilian was transporting Godou. However, this glow, descending from the sky, suddenly swerved left, in order to evade an arrow shot from the ground.

  Godou looked downwards, only to see the "King of the End" standing upright on a mountain ridge.

  Vegetation was sparse there, offering good visibility. He nocked an arrow on the steel bow.

  He was firing at the rapidly descending duo. Firing. Firing. Firing. Instead of the jet-black arrow, he fired four times in succession using arrows with iron arrowheads and shafts made of wood and feathers.

  Despite looking ordinary, these arrows were probably hiding terrifying firepower within them.

  Controlling the light of flight magic, Luo Cuilian evaded the four arrows while continuing to approach the ground.

  Then the "King of the End" threw the steel bow away. Pulling the Divine Sword of Salvation out from the ground where it had been stabbed, he pointed the glorious blade's tip at the airborne Godou. Godou could predict an imminent melee battle.

  In turn, Godou summoned his flashy partner, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi. The partner that always made its abode in his right arm was currently far away.

  "Ama no Murakumo! And Athena! Use that usual move!"

  In response to this command, the giant crater below went through a change.

  Several cracks appeared in the central zone of the giant hole that measured several several kilometers in diameter and penetrated the mountain range. Then the crater began to shake violently. The earthquake was confined to the bottom of the crater.

  Then a giant sphere passed through the soil and emerged from the shaking earth.

  A sphere that seemed to be a conglomeration of dark matter.

  Roughly forty or fifty meters in diameter, this sphere was the culprit causing the localized earthquake—generated from Godou's mystic technique of the [Storm Bringer], the black star of darkness known as a gravitational storm.

  Although this mystic technique could produce astounding firepower, activating it and raising it to maximum power required a great expenditure of time. This drawback was hard to overcome.

  But this time, he was assisted in combat by Pallas Athena who had retrieved her divinity as a great mother goddess of the earth.

  A great mother goddess of the earth, ruling over the subterranean underworld in addition to the ground above. The goddess, whose symbol was the snake, held dominion over the two realms, above and below ground.

  That was precisely why Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi had suggested summoning Pallas Athena into itself.

  Using her powers as a mother earth goddess to teleport underground, they made preparations for the black blade. In order to pull it to the ground surface when its power reached its maximum critical point—

  The greatest uncertainty was whether the dying goddess still had enough remaining strength to accomplish this.

  However, Pallas Athena and Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi had accomplished their mission perfectly. Surfacing from underground, the black star rose even higher towards the sky, finally converging with Godou in midair.

  The sphere of darkness—Godou was now hovering in its center.

  Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi manifested in his right hand. There was also Athena's snake form entwined around the katana-like blade.

  In this manner, Godou began a rapid descent towards the ground together with the [Storm Bringer]'s black star.

  The "King of the End" was currently waiting at the targeted destination. Holding up the Divine Sword of Salvation, he was pointing the shining sword tip at Godou in the air.

  Then platinum-colored lightning formed a sphere surrounding the "King of the End."

  In order to resist the black star that enveloped Godou, he was spreading the lightning from the Divine Sword of Salvation around himself.

  Hence, the hero wrapped in a ball of lightning versus Godou descending from the heavens with a black star—A violent clash. A reenactment of the repeated showdown that had occurred previously at Kisarazu as well as the Rhine's shore in ancient Roman times.

  The black star of the Devil King versus the white star of the savior.

  With stark contrast, the two collided in a showdown of polar opposites—

  "Guh... Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!"

  Godou yelled while pouring magic power into Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi.

  As soon as the black and white stars clashed violently, he instantly understood. The enemy's power was unlike in the past. If this contest of strength continued, the black star was going to be annihilated in less than two minutes.

  "I already took such great pains to prepare, but the gap is still so large!?"

  Godou's grumbling lips were twisted in savagery. It was a smile.

  Despite the massive power gap between him and the opponent, he was feeling unbelievably exhilarated.

  Probably because there was nothing to do except resist to the bitter end. There was no choice apart from going all out.

  "Since there's not much time left, Ama no Murakumo, try your hardest to absorb that guy's lightning in the meantime—Open a path. You help out too, Athena!"

  While pouring his entire magic power into the partner, Godou commanded. He knew this was quite an unreasonable demand.

  Nevertheless, the sword born for conflict replied "Affirmative!" succinctly, whereas the snake, wrapped around the blade, glared at Godou with terrifying eyes that seemed to be saying "unnecessary babbling, fool."

  During this time, the clash between the black and white stars still continued.

  Currently, the two stars had shrunk to diameters of ten-odd meters—No, rather than shrink, they had compressed.

  This was to increase the density of power so as to resist in full force. Thanks to that, Godou's distance to the "King of the End" had decreased. He could see the hero's handsome face clearly.

  Stern and courageous, yet colored with battle weariness like a layer of rust.

  Godou did not feel hatred towards him. Neither did he feel anger. However, he felt a sense of competitiveness. A sense of defiance to resist the being of ultimate power no matter what.

  Godou grinned savagely again, mustering even more magic power from his energy center deep in the abdomen under the navel.

  Fueled with this power, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi enacted a miracle on a small scale. The [Storm Bringer]'s essence was absorbing all creation like a
black hole. Embodying this principle, the blade was absorbing the electrical energy overflowing from the space between Godou and the "King of the End." Absorbing, absorbing, absorbing nonstop.

  Finally, a path was opened at last.

  A path reaching the hero directly while dodging the scorching lightning of salvation.

  "Hmm!?"

  "Now is the moment, Nee-san!"

  While the pale-haired hero exclaimed in surprise, Godou yelled.

  Immediately, Luo Cuilian's beautiful upright figure flew out from her sworn brother's back. Racing lightly and rapidly along the opened path, her unparalleled mastery of qinggong, the Chinese martial arts technique of movement, it was as though she had turned weightless.

  "Nothing less expected from godslayers, larger than life characters who have reached the heavens through their own strength!"

  "Save such flattery and praise for after you have witnessed our potential as siblings—Hah!"

  While commending them, impressed, the "King of the End" raised the divine sword to an upper stance.

  However, Luo Cuilian used the [Dragon's Roar and Tiger's Howl] to deflect the glorious divine sword then proceeded to deliver a mighty blow to the hero's stalwart body.

  Her Eminence Luo Cuilian the Devil King emitted a roar that turned into a shockwave of magical wind, clearing all obstacles in its path.

  Sealing off the enemy's counterattack, she closed in on the hero spectacularly.

  The Ruler of the Martial Realm silently attacked using her most prided weapon. With extreme speed, she used her dominant right hand, pressing her palm against the chest of the "King of the End."

  This palm was pressed precisely on the heart—the vital spot corresponding to the Danzhong pressure point in Chinese martial arts.

  Godou knew very well that the hero of the divine sword was in command of masterful swordsmanship. Despite being a master swordsman, he was still unable to react to this ordinary looking palm strike. This truly made clear the fact that the gentle strike that Luo Cuilian had just unleashed was her strongest palm technique.

  Simply by pushing out her hand in a simple movement, she inflicted a blow on the supreme expert.

  Literally the pinnacle of martial arts secret techniques. Furthermore, like her sworn brother, Luo Cuilian had poured her entire magic power into her right palm, infusing it with force from the Divine Might of Vajrapani.

  Using this mighty force to perform a karate chop, one could probably slice mountains and rivers apart with ease.

  Using this mighty force to perform a punch, one would surely shake heaven and earth, even to the point of making sacred Mount Tai rumble.

  Struck by such a mighty force in a vital spot, the "King of the End" screamed tragically.

  "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

  Then immediately, the valorous hero's entire body erupted with brilliant platinum-colored light.

  Part 4

  The entire area was rendered scorched earth.

  The battleground for the two godslayers and the "King of the End" had turned into an incinerated plain.

  This was originally somewhere in the mountains. However, the mountainous portion serving as the battlefield had been blown away. Trees had been swept clear. Many lives inhabiting the winter mountain forest had been extinguished.

  Watching this tragic scene, the "King of the End" shook his head silently. This all came by his hand personally.

  His life was intimately linked to the Divine Sword of Salvation.

  So long as this blade remained intact, he would resurrect again and again even after dying.

  When suffering Her Eminence Luo Hao's fierce palm strike earlier, he had increased his body's "bond with the the Divine Sword of Salvation" to the maximum in order to resist the impact. As a result, turning into a "living divine sword," he was able to endure despite the devastating blow.

  As a side effect, he had released lightning of salvation from his entire body, sweeping the entire area away.

  There was nothing left in the vicinity. Everything had been incinerated by the lightning, blown apart by the violent impact that altered the landscape, turned into an entire patch of scorched earth. Kusanagi Godou and his sworn sister had also vanished.

  If one were to ask what had remained from the battle, there was only the dull pain still lingering on his chest.

  With these depressed thoughts, the "King of the End" gazed upon the trail of destruction he had left behind.

  Among what had been destroyed, this also included the spirits that had helped him earlier—

  "Your Excellency the Savior."

  A voice called out. It was the bold and beautiful voice of the hero Perseus.

  He arrived at the side of the "King of the End." The Great Sage Equaling Heaven and Lancelot were present too. Returning from the far side of the sky, the Wind King also came along.

  "Should we pursue them?"

  "Not necessary."

  In his current state of heightened indestructibility, his power was too difficult to control.

  More openings than usual. The "King of the End" shook his head.

  "I am slightly exhausted from fighting at full strength after so long since the last time. Resting is necessary. You three heroes will face various inconveniences if you leave my side, won't you? Let us withdraw for now."

  "Regarding that..."

  Perseus smiled with delight and glanced at the Wind King for an instant.

  "There is also the option of passing the task to that gentleman over there."

  Hearing this, the unidentified wind god suddenly vanished. Riding the night wind that happened to blow past, he took his leave in front of everyone here.

  Hence, the ancient Roman hero with hair the color of the Japanese Yellow Rose nodded greatly.

  "A certain Mr. Wind doesn't seem too willing to make a move without careful consideration, just as I thought."

  "I hope for your understanding. Like everyone here, he is also a hero whose glorious renown is unshakable. Perhaps he is worried about the risk of identity exposure if he were to mobilize too frequently."

  Hearing the "King of the End" apologize as the master, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven commented with heartfelt emotion.

  "It's truly commendable how devoted he is to obeying his lord and master's wishes. I've got to make my lil' bros learn from him."

  "Lord Monkey, I am afraid they are merely taking after you, their eldest brother, aren't they?"

  "Seeing as that's the case, I'm gonna rest for now. I'm not boasting when I say that old Sun here is known as the number one in the celestial realm for slacking on the job."

  Leaving these words behind, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven disappeared.

  Perseus did the same as the celestial realm's former Keeper of the Horses, leaving elegant laughter. Thus, only the "King of the End" and Lancelot du Lac remained.

  "...Your Majesty, how about a brief moment of slumber?"

  The female knight of white advised.

  "After unleashing your authority to this extent, your body ought to be quite scorching in temperature."

  "You are right."

  Nodding, the "King of the End" gazed at his own right hand.

  No different from usual, his hand consisted of a pale palm and five fingers, all shaped exquisitely. But including this hand, his entire body was giving off intense heat. An ordinary person standing next to him would probably feel as though they were suffering in front of a furnace.

  Even if he were to jump into a river, the water would evaporate immediately, turning into steam hanging in the air.

  "Lancelot. Even before meeting you and the goddess Gwenhwyfar in the ancient past, I have been fighting continually. I hibernate every time I finish the mission of exterminating Devil Kings, instantly jumping into battle against new Devil Kings immediately after awakenening. This has repeated countless times."

  The "King of the End" suddenly brought
up the past.

  "In the past, I always woke up with almost all my power depleted. Hence, in order to fight, I would need to gather the essence of the earth. For this purpose, I would set off on a long journey of wandering across the lands."

  "Indeed."

  Lancelot concurred.

  "Unable to bear the sight of that, this knight's companion Gwenhwyfar decided to create the Holy Grail, even using herself as the material while on the verge of death. For the purpose of gathering the essence of mother earth goddesses beforehand so as to provide you with power without needing to go through the hardships of wandering. Furthermore, it had its own value too."

  The deity of knights, worshiped by equestrian tribes, swept her gaze across the incinerated plain.

  "On this occasion, you faced an intense battle immediately after awakening."

  "Yes. To her who created the Holy Grail... I really ought to express my gratitude."

  A smiling expression surfaced on the lips of the "King of the End," one that could be called a smile yet with a certain sense of bitterness.

  Bowing mundanely towards him, the goddess Lancelot also disappeared.

  "Oh man... It feels like I'm always saying this every time."

  A hour or two after the intense battle that had even changed Minamibousou's landscape...

  Under the moonlight and winter night sky, Godou was currently located within the premises of an old and historic temple. Having left the mountainous area that had served as the battlefield, he was back in human settlement.

  The night was silent as though the earlier commotion had been a dream.

  "I was definitely expecting to die just now. It's all thanks to you, Nee-san, that I was saved. Thank you."

  "No need for thanks. After all, I too escaped death thanks to your quick wits."

  The transcendent beauty in front of him under the moonlight was Luo Cuilian, of course.

  However, her pale and beautiful face was more pallid than usual. Her energy and vitality were utterly depleted. Anemia might even have arose.