Campione! - Volume 17 - The Hero's Name

by Taketsuki Jou

  Reaching this conclusion, Luo Cuilian used clairvoyance to spot land a few dozen kilometers away before raising her flying speed all at once to fly in that direction.

  Tokyo Bay's vicinity was too cramped for the peerless Luo Cuilian's tastes. Furthermore, Pushpaka Vimana was also moving west along the ocean currently.

  Most importantly, the simple reason was that Luo Cuilian's flying speed was much faster than Liliana's flight magic.

  Hence, it took merely two or three minutes of flying over Tokyo Bay to reach the landing location directly. Then Luo Cuilian used this unusual speed to attack.

  Without slowing down at all, she landed directly. Crashing into the ground with horrifying divine speed, she smashed Hanuman's body violently into the concrete floor.

  The white monkey god with the body of steel crashed like a meteor impact.

  The direct result of Hanuman's impact on the ground was a large crater reaching almost twenty meters in diameter.

  Concrete chunks of varying sizes flew and scattered in the air. Some were stone chips the size of pebbles while others were as large as small automobiles in size.

  However, the war god of wind and steel was not so weak as to be injured by something of this level.

  After the crash landing, Hanuman's head was still in the firm grip of Luo Cuilian's right hand and fingers, but finally, he was able to chant words of power.

  "M-My father, O wind god Vayu!"

  The white monkey god's body turned into a gust of wind.

  Even someone like Luo Cuilian was not able to grasp a gaseous body all of a sudden.

  Hanuman had struggled free splendidly, turning into a gale to rush from the bottom of the crater to its edge, landing safely on the concrete floor.

  Whether the monkey's body or its beautiful white fur, neither was scratched the slightest.

  "Fufufu. As expected of the valorous war god Hanuman of ancient India. When confronted with impending death, your ability to freely control the traits of your immortality is legendary as rumored."

  Moreover, the laughing Luo Cuilian was completely unharmed as well.

  Even using Hanuman's body as a shield, when crashing into the ground with that level of speed and momentum, a safe landing was impossible under normal conditions.

  Logically speaking, she should have received injury and force commensurate with the rapid descent, dying on the spot.

  In spite of that, Luo Cuilian had not suffered any damage of that sort.

  She jumped lightly. Arriving in front of Hanuman with just a single effortless leap from the bottom of the crater, her motion had already surpassed the realm of lightness, as graceful as a celestial maiden unfettered by the restrictions of gravity.

  This time, Luo Cuilian was facing off against Hanuman on the ground.

  However, the wind god's son immediately hovered into the air using his own powers of flight.

  "Beautiful godslayer, Your Highness evidently knows my origins."

  Suddenly stopping at a point in the air—

  Hanuman took a seat, motionless. For the wind god's son, the intangible and invisible air was no different from furniture.

  While Hanuman was sitting in as though in a Zen mediation pose, a mandala appeared behind him.

  It was a circle ten times bigger than the 180cm tall Hanuman. His master's mandala depicted countless weapons whereas Hanuman's was that of a great monkey army—a thousand strong.

  The monkeys were all in armor, armed with blades and spears.

  "In that case, you ought to know that. Before becoming the crown prince's devotee, I used to serve Sugriva, ruler of the monkey race. Furthermore, I was the general commanding the army of monkeys."

  Next, the thousand monkeys depicted in the mandala came alive. Obtaining life and physical form, these monkey soldiers served Hanuman!

  In addition, their fur was white like their master's. Their similarity to the wind god's son extending into other areas, the thousand armed monkeys were riding on gales, flying into the air.

  Charging at Luo Cuilian from overhead, these monkey attacked with their respective weapons!

  "Naturally, it is clear beyond a doubt."

  In response, she shrugged haughtily as befitted the Ruler of the Martial Realm.

  "Disposable pawns of this level—None shall harm a single hair of mine even if you gather a million of them!"

  From those beautiful lips came a great shout as intense as a lion's roar.

  In addition, her beautiful voice, so pleasant to the ears, was transformed into a shockwave of magical wind capable of smashing even steel. She had used her second authority of the [Dragon's Roar and Tiger's Howl].

  "Generals die on horseback, soldiers destroy enemy encampments. Rivers of blood across the land, white bones lie exposed. Trails linger from horses gone, names remain on record in vain—!"[7]

  She was singing a poem that lamented the tragedy of merciless battlefields.

  The ominous verses summoned magical wind of destruction, sweeping lightly across the army of a thousand monkeys. In the end, Hanuman's soldiers—Every single one of them was pulverized and scattered without exception.

  Losing their shapes as monkeys,the soldiers turned into tiny dust, scattering in the atmosphere.

  But in the next instant...

  Hanuman himself attacked from the air without warning.

  Descending upon Luo Cuilian rapidly from overhead, he unleashed a spinning kick using the momentum of his descent. Spinning vertically, with feet descending like a guillotine's blade, it was an absurd feat.

  An agile kicking attack only possible for apes to perform, this move was aimed at the demonic cult leader's delicate collarbone.

  However, unarmed combat was precisely Luo Cuilian's top field of expertise.

  She simply took a step back to dodge Hanuman's kick. Even so, the slight delay in her evasion resulted in a small tear on the chest of the Mandarin gown she was wearing.

  Descending on the ground again, Hanuman spoke to the frowning Luo Cuilian.

  "Seeing as they were defeated so easily, there was no point going out of my way to call forth soldiers. Haha! Oriental or occidental, past or present, all of those known as Rakshasa Kings were violent fellows without exception..."

  Despite offering praise, the white monkey god did not pause in his movements.

  Extending his right arm suddenly, he aimed a straight punch at Luo Cuilian's face. However, it was not a single strike. Within a blink of the eye, this feat of agility delivered five consecutive punches with the same right fist. A consummate skill as fast as lightning. Nevertheless, this was nothing new to the Ruler of the Martial Realm who remained unfazed.

  Using the back and palm of her left hand, she blocked all five strikes—At least, that was the intention.

  However, the final punch was not blocked. Instead, her left palm was deflected by the fist's force. Instantly, she dodged Hanuman's punch that was flying towards her face, successfully evading the attack.

  That being said...

  The fist had apparently brushed slightly past her.

  A faint laceration appeared on Luo Cuilian's cheek. Blood dripped down.

  "You must have exhausted yourself in the earlier fight against the crown prince. Also, there are signs, no matter how slight, that your martial arts are falling into disarray on their own due to the shortening of your limbs."

  Hanuman spoke in a courteous tone of voice.

  "Excuse my rudeness for saying this, but fighting me in this state must be quite an ordeal for you, isn't it?"

  "...I see."

  On the other hand, Luo Cuilian showed an expression of comprehension.

  "Your most prided weapon—is your own body, isn't that so?"

  Salvatore Doni had called Hanuman out on the same issue back in ancient Gaul.

  Swords and blades were not the Wind King's top weapons of mastery. Naturally, Luo Cuilian could not have known about that earlier scene. But through fighting Hanuman, whose identity was exposed, s
he came to learn even more of the truth than the Italian Campione.

  Punches and kicks. Unarmed combat skills using the entire body.

  The white monkey god's most prided weapon and trump card consisted of that.

  A most appropriate opponent for Luo Cuilian whose most powerful skill was the Twelve Divine Palm Strikes of the Phoenix. Hence, she was able to fight by bringing the full extent of her martial arts to the table.

  However, Luo Cuilian's rhythm was gradually disrupted by her body's non-ideal condition.

  Furthermore, the enemy was indestructible—a body of steel. In a contest of durability, Hanuman clearly held the advantage.

  Continuing to fight in this manner, the current balance would probably collapse in a matter of minutes.

  Even if she wanted to defeat the enemy by using a swift offensive, the opponent was a battle-hardened god of war after all. He would see through this type of tactic. Then was there any ingenious trick to escaping this predicament—?

  Tensing her young and beautiful face, Luo Cuilian stared sharply into Hanuman's highly intellectual simian face.

  Part 2

  Prince Rama's royal ship that looked like a giant city—Pushpaka Vimana.

  In fact, the ship did have towers and houses of stone erected all over the place. Perhaps a large number of people actually lived there and it was possible the ship served the functions of a city.

  Godou ordered his vimana sky chariot to charge towards this city.

  In addition, the two heroes, Perseus and Great Sage Equaling Heaven Sun Wukong, were pursuing right behind him—

  "You cannot escape my arrows even if you flee to this place!"

  Perseus yelled out, positively thrilled.

  Perhaps he was excited for the chance to fight a godslayer again.

  He kept firing arrows from atop his winged horse. Furthermore, he was not shooting one arrow at a time. Holding four arrows between five fingers, he placed them all on the bowstring at once to fire them simultaneously.

  Literally, he kept repeating this type of attack continuously.

  Despite being attacked by just one archer, Godou was confronted by a barrage of attacks akin to a rain of bullets.

  Those arrows would probably have pierced him immediately were it not for the vimana's flying capabilities. Moreover, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven was quietly waiting by Perseus side, sitting on his iridescent cloud.

  "Kukukuku. It's time for the main event to start."

  Laughing with glee, the Great Sage stared intently at Godou's back while he was fleeing this way and that.

  Without a doubt. The Great Sage was choosing his opportunity to charge with divine speed. Such rare caution coming from him was probably because he knew that Godou was likewise a user of divine speed as well. If he were to attack recklesssly, it would be futile if Godou escaped using the same divine speed.

  Judging from this, the Handsome Monkey King truly lived up to his reputation as a natural expert in fighting.

  "...Just as I thought, I can't keep running away anymore."

  Godou muttered. The 100m lead in the beginning had shrunk by more than half now. There was no way to survive unless he counterattacked.

  Also, his purpose in coming here was indeed for the sake of striking back.

  "Please. Obey my orders...!"

  Taking a gamble on Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi's ability to replicate Prince Rama's authority, Godou called out.

  Namely, the power to control vimanas. However, his target was not the sky chariot he was currently riding. Instead, it was the supreme mode of transport, much more massive and powerful—Pushpaka Vimana.

  Then Godou sensed it.

  Although it did not extend to the entire craft, he was still able to freely control part of this massive ship that was like a city!

  "Do it! Take out those guys!"

  Godou immediately yelled out.

  He had already found out through his knowledge of Prince Rama.

  He knew what armaments the entire vimana was equipped with. The only reason why the ship's master had not used them was presumably because his own weapon was far more powerful.

  In any case, regarding the orders to attack, part of Pushpaka Vimana responded.

  The ship was a perfect circle with a diameter of sixteen kilometers. Right now, Godou had flown to one end, the northeastern block had come under Kusanagi Godou's control.

  In terms of area, it was roughly one eighth of the total.

  Built in the center of the northeastern block was the tallest tower in the area.

  A tower of chalk—Roughly forty or fifty meters in height. The entire tower suddenly glowed blue-white and even emitted exploding sparks.

  " "What!?" "

  The instant when Perseus and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven were taken by surprise...

  Blue-white lightning was released from the pinnacle of the tower of chalk, descending upon the two heroes who were pursuing Godou. Struck directly by this lightning, they were thrown from their respective mounts—the winged horse and the iridescent cloud.

  "Hey, that's playing dirty!"

  "A man who still cares not for elegance!"

  The Great Sage cursed while Perseus cried out with inexplicable excitement.

  Living true to their names as heroes of steel, they remained lively as ever even after a direct hit from lightning. However, Godou did not try to check out their condition. If he had that kind of leisure, even for a second, he should use it on escaping.

  After that, the tower of chalk continued to release lightning.

  Naturally, the goal was to pin down the two heroes, to prevent them from chasing after Kusanagi Godou.

  With Pushpaka Vimana's support, Godou was able to shake the two heroes off his trail again. Then he discovered a plaza in the shape of a diamond.

  Seen through Japanese sensibilities, this plaza somewhat resembled a baseball field in shape and size.

  Except for the monastery-like building sitting in the center of the plaza. Ordering his chariot vimana to land, Godou descended on the surface of stone tiles.

  "Let's find a way to end things here..."

  The four flying holy swords following the vimana also came to his side, stabbing into the ground. However, there was more to do. Godou called out to Ama no Murakumo in his right arm.

  "Ama no Murakumo, that past move—Start it now!"

  'Hmm. One would call this a last stand.'

  After giving a courageous reply, a black sphere of darkness suddenly manifested over Godou's head.

  Ten-odd meters in diameter, it was hovering in midair. Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi had finally activated the [Storm Bringer]. Of course, substantial time was still needed to raise its power to critical point.

  One minute, two minutes, three minutes, four minutes—Godou waited silently.

  Focusing his mind, he poured all of his magic power into Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi in order to raise the black blade's power to its maximum in the shortest time possible. During this process, he could still hear lightning descending in the distance.

  The tower of chalk continued to attack Perseus and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.

  The two heroes were probably enduring the attacks, although Godou did not believe that attacks of this level could defeat them... The moment this thought crossed his mind, there was a sudden exploding sound.

  Godou turned his gaze to see an explosion at the pinnacle of the tower of chalk.

  The two heroes had evidently destroyed the meddlesome tower.

  Godou clicked his tongue. The [Storm Bringer] had not reached critical point yet. Its power had reached at most half or so.

  "Your petty trick has outlived its usefulness."

  "Oh well, I am hoping to see what other tricks you will play in your futile struggle."

  Then the two heroes' voices came from behind.

  Perseus and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven had finally arrived at the diamond-shaped plaza. They no longer had their mounts. Instead, they had arrive
d on foot.

  Godou took a glance at the black star overhead.

  Gwoon. Gwoon. Gwoon. Making unique noises, the giant sphere rotated with commensurate speed. However, it still needed to spin faster to reach critical point.

  Godou sighed in a slightly exaggerated manner. Then immediately, he swiftly issued thoughts to attack.

  "All enemies shall tremble before me. I am the guardian of the righteous!"

  The instant he chanted spell words, the golden blades flew out.

  The four holy swords of Verethragna, embedded upright in the ground next to Godou—two of them suddenly flew ferociously into the air, attacking Perseus and the Great Sage respectively.

  But against this surprise attack—

  "Nwoh!?"

  "Hmm!"

  The Great Sage instantly struck the holy sword away using his Ruyi Staff. Tossing his bow away, Perseus forcefully swung the curved blade he had summoned into his right hand, deflecting the holy sword.

  Clang, clang, with the sound of two metallic impacts, the two holy swords of gold were sent flying elsewhere.

  Godou frowned. He had two remaining swords of Verethragna, but although they were blades of ultimate destruction against Prince Rama, they did not work against the two heroes. Just now, he had tried attacking by using them as purely physical blades, but the heroes had defended easily.

  "In that case, there's only one remaining weapon..."

  Gwoon gwoon gwoon gwoon gwoon—

  The black star spinning overhead had increased slightly in its rotation speed. Taking in the magic power pouring from Godou and Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, it was increasing in power at a slightly faster rate than before.

  Godou looked up with a resolute expression and pointed Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi's blade at the two heroes.

  Confronted with this reckless challenge, Perseus and the Great Sage were just about to step forward. In that very instant...

  "Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword!"[8]

  "They warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males! And they slew the kings of Midian!"[9]