Vol 6 Chapter 6 (1/2)

Chapter 6 - Encounter in the Netherworld

Part 1

G.o.dou found himself in a mountain at some unknown location.

After being swallowed by the suspicious darkness, he came to find himself

in this place.

It was deep in the mountains, with lush greenery.

Heavy was the smell of soil and trees. There was also a small stream

flowing beside him.

Were it a sunny day, taking a walk here would have been very comfortable.

Regrettably, it was raining with ma.s.sive droplets splattering all over him.

Howling winds filled the sky and mercilessly stole warmth from his

drenched body.

In addition, G.o.dou's bodily condition was not very well at this time.

A strong feeling of nausea, terrible cold, and headache made G.o.dou worry

if he had caught a flu.

Though it would have been best to get moving to find shelter from this

storm, he did not have the strength. Squatting down for about three

minutes and enduring the sense of nausea, he felt much better.

”This feeling is almost like carsickness...”

The headache was still present but was not a problem. G.o.dou got up and

looked around. The water in the stream beside him was very turbid and

flowing rapidly due to the drainage of the rainwater. From the way the

stream ran, this place must be quite remote in the deep mountains.

G.o.dou discovered a little house upstream, and started making his way

towards it.

He should first find shelter from the rain. Though a wooden house on the

riverbank in such pouring rain did not seem particularly safe, it would still

be better than standing outside.

Then again, the safety of Erica and Seishuuin Ena still worried him very

much.

While worrying about them, G.o.dou reached the door of the little house.

It resembled a rustic wooden house from some historical drama. A simple

glance was sufficient to a.s.sert that modern amenities such as electricity,

gas, and running water were alien concepts.

The sliding door at the entrance was open, and G.o.dou peered inside.

An old man, who appeared to be the owner, sat cross-legged in front of the

stove.

His towering physique would stand over 180cm tall. His coa.r.s.e kimono

exposed a strongly built body that did not match his age and bulging

musculature that would put most bodybuilders to shame.

The old man's obstinate expression matched his solid build quite well.

”Kusanagi G.o.dou, please enter. My apologies for suddenly summoning

you to this place.”

To be named so abruptly.

By this point, G.o.dou knew who he was.

G.o.dou's body, charged full of energy to fight, had already given him the

answer — the old man before him was a G.o.d.

”My miko made trouble for you, but please endure for a little while longer. I

had no choice but to bring you here because that girl said she wanted a

duel with the barbaric little lady. After all, they are both female and human,

so why don't you let them fight to their hearts' content?”

”...Who are you? And what kind of G.o.d are you?”

Hearing the questions, the old man smiled.

Though he appeared to be very strict, he unexpectedly gave off a sense of

kindliness and intimacy.

”I am the G.o.d known as Haya Susanoo no Mikoto. You may call me the

Old One or simply old man, but do not use grampsy. Having one brat Ena

calling me such an idiotic nickname is more than enough.”

Jumping into the darkness that G.o.dou disappeared into —

Erica finally reached the end to find herself at an unknown riverside.

The distance across the river was not very wide, but the flow was quite

rapid and swimming across would be very difficult. However, the water in

this river was beautiful and crystal clear.

It gave off a feeling that could not possibly come from a river in the

twenty-three wards of Tokyo.

”This really is the Astral Plane... right? Could I have entered the Boundary

of Life and Immortality?”

Erica knelt on the ground panting.

The air was very turbid and felt lacking in oxygen no matter how hard you

breathed. Very likely, her body was not yet accustomed to this world.

But it could not be helped.

Moving from the surface world to the Astral Plane was [Plane Walking], a

type of ultimate, high-difficulty magic that required drinking a precious

potion beforehand.

This was medication to activate spirit capabilities and help the body adapt

to this otherworldly realm.

This was a world where spirit ranked higher than flesh, and ectoplasm

ranked higher than matter.

Magi who had stepped foot in the Astral Plane were extremely rare,

because neither the magical ritual to transfer to another world nor the

required potion were easy to obtain.

Though it was her first time here, Erica already discerned the truth of this

world and started responding accordingly.

First, she raised the magical power in her body to the limit.

Despite the risk of depleting her magical energy, there was no time to

hesitate. After dozens of seconds, her symptoms disappeared, and Erica

stood up, her breathing back to normal. Then came a voice.

”Erica-san, you are amazing. Already moving about in the Netherworld.”

Seishuuin Ena walked over, holding the Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi in

her hand.

The Hime-Miko also seemed to be protecting her body in the same way

and did not show any signs of suffering.

”You're really annoying, and I was about to catch up to G.o.dou. Could you

kindly step aside?”

”If that's the case, you must first defeat Ena by force. Come, we must hurry

and fight.”

Erica drew Cuore di Leone for she had harbored the same intentions all

along.

Then she advanced to attack Ena who was wielding Ama no Murak.u.mo no

Tsurugi in its jet-black curved blade form.

The magic sword and the divine blade clashed once again.

The moment the two blades met, Cuore di Leone was split into two! With

split second decisiveness, Erica promptly jumped to the side and evaded

the follow up attack.

”Steel of the lion, the symbol of indestructible authority!”

Responding to Erica's spell words, the broken segment of the magic sword

flew through the air and returned.

Then combined and welded back together again.

Cuore di Leone restored itself through its attribute of indestructibility, but

Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi's power was also increasing.

Or rather, it was simply retrieving its original power?

”Susanoo — by filling her body with the blade's original user's divine

protection, she is able to wield a divine artifact that humans cannot use...

To think that such a technique existed!”

Erica exclaimed softly.

Ena's body was inhabited by some unknown divine power. A tiny fraction

of Susanoo's divinity — probably around two hundred parts per million — was

being lent to her.

Even though the amount of power a human body could contain was this

small, its nature was still the power of a G.o.d.

Which is why Ena could freely wield Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi using

her own will and sword skills.

”Not just grampsy's power, but this Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi is also

similar to a demiG.o.d. Its spirit flows within me. Susanoo's attribute as the

conquering G.o.d was also obtained from the Ama no Murak.u.mo no

Tsurugi.”

The steel sword symbolizing the conqueror... Since this description was

bestowed after he obtained the sword, Susanoo must have acquired his

divinity of the conquering G.o.d at the same time, Erica deduced.

”Tell me, that grampsy of yours called Susanoo — where is he? Then again,

what is he? Could he be a [Heretic G.o.d]?”

”According to his own description, he is no longer the same brash and

mischievous G.o.d in his youth.”

Provoked by Ena's laughter, Erica could not help but glare at her. But she

was right, were he still a [Heretic G.o.d], he would be wandering on earth

and causing ma.s.s destruction instead. Then what kind of existence was he

actually?

”Explaining it will take very long... And there's no time left, right?”

Ena felt deeply apologetic.

”Normally, I should be more leisurely. But maybe because we're in the

Netherworld, the divine power in my body has increased? The spirit of

grampsy and Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi is truly amazing, even talking

properly is becoming impossible... So Ena would like to apologize to you

first.”

”You want to apologize?”

”Yes, because Ena is now too strong, so strong that even I feel

despicable...”

As she made such a declaration, Ena's body began to shake.

Her movements were very stiff, like those of a puppet, and completely

different from her agile moves up to this point.

”Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi, I pledge this body as a sacrifice, pray calm

your wild spirit!”

The spell words were chanted from the miko's mouth.

Whispered words that carried piety and nihility. And inhabiting her pupils

was a ferocious fighting spirit and murderous intent.

It was not the eyes of a swordsman who gambled with life to enjoy battle,

but those of an evil spirit that swore to defeat all enemies and annihilate

them completely.

With her changed expression, Ena raised her jet-black divine sword high

using stiff movements.

”Thousand leaves breaking, Iwaki of G.o.d, surpa.s.sing possible, I now name

it, unfortunate nothingness.”^

The instant the spell song was chanted, Erica received a shocking

surprise.

The magical power that protected her and allowed her to adjust to the

Netherworld suddenly left her body.

That magical power was being sucked into Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi!

— The ability to a.s.similate the power of rebellious barbarians. It turned out

it could be used in this way.

Speechless, Erica sank to her knees, her entire body losing strength and

her breathing quickening. She had returned to the state when she first

arrived in this world.

In front of Ena, who was under divine possession, it was truly a hopeless

and desperate situation.

Part 2

To have the gall to call a G.o.d ”grampsy” to his face, Ena's courage was

beyond imagination.

G.o.dou sighed as he asked:

”I'd like to ask, are you actually a [Heretic G.o.d]?”

”No, I'm no longer rebelling. I've tired of that kind of game a long time ago.”

”G.o.ds who have escaped the restrictions of their myths, aren't they all

[Heretic G.o.ds]?”

Sc.r.a.ps of knowledge that he picked up from Erica before.

But the G.o.d who introduced himself as Susanoo(!) simply scoffed in

disdain.

”That kind of sloppy categorization is wrong. Normal G.o.ds only exist in

myths, while only those who escape from legends and walk the earth can

be called [Heretic G.o.ds].”

[Heretic G.o.d] caused unprecedented disasters simply by existing on earth.

This was why the only ones who could oppose them, the Campiones, were

revered as devil kings. That was what G.o.dou knew.

”As for me, I was a [Heretic G.o.d] once.”

Susanoo exhaled deeply, and showed an expression as if reading G.o.dou's

mind.

”I wandered the earth for over a thousand years, then got bored and

decided to live in seclusion. I suppose I used to be very violent and

unreasonable, but personalities tend to mellow with age.”

His delinquent-like declaration aside, who could have thought Susanoo

was an elderly former [Heretic G.o.d]?

This self-introduction stunned G.o.dou with surprise. He had been

wondering for quite a while what kind of end existed for G.o.ds like Athena,

but he never thought a retirement solution like this existed.

”You mentioned living in seclusion, what is that about?”

”Since [Heretic G.o.ds] will not die without a serious cause, they will not

return to the myths either. Without any other recourse, they either go to

sleep or live secluded in the Netherworld like me.”

”Netherworld?”

”Oh? That's this place right here. You didn't know that? I heard you've

been summoned here by your adoptive mother Pandora before.”

”No, I had no idea at all.”

G.o.dou had some kind of subtle feeling as he shook his head.

The headache that appeared after he arrived at this mountain. An

annoying headache that suddenly intensified.

”Hahaha, sorry, it's because I brought you here through abnormal means,

so you have been unable to retrieve the memories in the Netherworld.

You've probably been having a headache all along, right?”

”Then summing up all that was said just now... Everything happened

because of you!”

G.o.dou made an indignant accusation, but the elderly hero G.o.d laughed

”hoho.”

”Yes, I used to do many bad things like locking old sis in a cave, so tricks

like hiding or concealing are a piece of cake for me.”

What did he mean? G.o.dou felt greatly suspicious.

Whenever he tried to ponder about the true visage of Susanoo, his

headache would intensify.

Susanoo was originally a G.o.d of the earth from Izumo.

However due to repeatedly amalgamating numerous myths, he

transformed into a typical hero G.o.d. Storms. Using his divine body that

controlled storms as a foundation, he obtained the iron sword from slaying

the snake.

The iron sword was the Kusanagi sword, the key to his becoming the

conquering G.o.d of steel.

At the same time, Susanoo also had the hero attribute of craftily making

use of deception, and a great example was the story of forcing his elder

sister, the great sun G.o.ddess Amaterasu, into a stone cave. The legend of

'hiding/stealing the sun', was a common trickster myth in the Asian Pacific

region.

All sorts of knowledge about Susanoo flowed into G.o.dou's mind.

Then G.o.dou felt in his right hand, the reaction of the [Sword] being

prepared. He fell silent.

”Ha! As expected of the fellow who obtained the sword of wisdom, just by

listening to my story, you were able to forge a weapon!”

All he wanted was to know, but why did it turn out like this?

The spell words to slay Susanoo have been obtained, but his head was

hurting like it was about to explode. It was probably impossible to win if he

had to fight with this G.o.d before him in such conditions.

G.o.dou felt doubt at the unexpected occurrence.

He felt that he was exactly like Verethragna — the original user of this

sword.

”W-why is this happening...”

”Because this is the Netherworld, which is different from the reality where

you live. This is where everything is recorded, from the birth of the universe

to all possible future outcomes. Those who possess the ability can obtain

some of these records from this place.”

The old G.o.d seemed to be undertaking an explanation role.

G.o.dou thought about what he heard before, that the power of spirit vision

was the ability to extract [Memories of the Void] from the Boundary of Life

and Immortality. So the Netherworld was that kind of territory.

So that was the reason why the environment and the [Warrior]'s power

produced some kind of chemical reaction...?

However, his headache was getting worse, and his brain felt like it was

burning up.

Very likely, it was the price of performing something similar to spirit vision.

This kind of task was probably best left to Yuri, G.o.dou painfully realized.

”Anyway, I must leave this place. Something bad is about to happen to my

companion — Erica and your miko Seishuuin Ena, and I must go to them.”

”What are you talking about? I called you here precisely to stop you from

interfering.”

G.o.dou endured his headache as he tried to make a sincere request. The

former [Heretic G.o.d] laughed heartily.

”Just wait a while longer, why the rush? Should I bring out the alcohol?”

This old b.a.s.t.a.r.d, why is he making me wait?

As G.o.dou frowned, he heard another voice.

”Looking for your girlfriends? Hahaha, you really are as lecherous as the

rumors.”

Unlike Susanoo's steady voice, it was a hoa.r.s.e sound.

G.o.dou frantically looked in the voice's direction. In a corner of the little

house, another character had started sitting there at some unknown point

in time.

The one dressed in a monk's black habit did not look human at all. With

dry, parched skin and no real flesh, it was as if everything had peeled off.

Resembling the body of a living Buddha or a mummified corpse, the sight

made G.o.dou swallow hard.

”To treasure her to such a degree, looks like our efforts to send you a

concubine have not gone to waste. Since Susanoo-san's miko was a

peculiar person, I originally worried if she might not suit your tastes... Or

perhaps, you worry more about that barbarian little lady?”

The black clad figure spoke in tones that hid subtle sarcasm.

Simply bearing superficial politeness, he was clearly a very rebellious

person.

”Your Majesty the Rakshasa King^ would like to see the girls, yes?

Please wait a moment.”

A third voice. This time it was female.

G.o.dou s.h.i.+fted his gaze towards the voice, opposite to the dried out monk's

position.

An otherworldly beauty was sitting in seiza, dressed like a n.o.ble princess

from the Heian era in a brilliantly colorful juunihitoe^ style kimono. But

where did she come from?

Those pupils of hers were crystal clear like the color of gla.s.s. Her hair was

a deep flaxen color while her smooth delicate skin resembled polished

ivory.

This adorable beauty of hers, resembling a sculpture, surpa.s.sed the looks

of any modern j.a.panese.

The princess with pupils of gla.s.s was sitting before a basin.

When did this basin, filled with water, appear along with the princess —

”W-Who are you people?”

G.o.dou asked frantically.

Unlike Susanoo, the mummified monk and the princess did not provoke his

battle spirit, so they should not be G.o.ds... Then the old hero G.o.d said to the

unsettled G.o.dou:

”This is the Netherworld, a gathering place for those who are neither

human nor G.o.ds. Especially those gathered here: obsessed fools unable to

relinquish their feelings for the real world. We have been dealing with the

other side for quite a long time, and have been involved in many affairs.”

”Simply put, a bunch of old people watching over the young ones.”

The dried out monk in black chimed in.

Though most of the teeth in his mouth had already fallen out, his words

were surprisingly clear.

”The wizards in charge of this country are too busy with mundane worldly

affairs. So in order to prevent them from becoming sleeping tigers, our duty

is to give them reminders from time to time. Sometimes when existences

like you pop up, we will also make a few comments.”

”...Sleeping tigers?”

As G.o.dou asked, the princess spoke once more.

”Please look this way, Rakshasa King. Your majesty's concubine is here.”

Images were appearing in the basin of water before her.

G.o.dou hurried over for a look. The image on the surface of the water

showed two girls fighting. Erica Blandelli was wielding Cuore di Leone

while Seishuuin Ena swung her great blade.

Ena's sword had changed in appearance. The originally straight blade was

now curved and its color had become black.

The duel ended dismally.

Facing Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi, Erica suddenly collapsed.

”To think that naughty brat Ena has come to the Netherworld. Fool, if she

performs divine possession in such a place, her body will surely be taken

by me and Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi.”

”Divine possession?”

G.o.dou questioned Susanoo's scolding of Ena.

”Correct, that is her power as a Hime-Miko. The ability to turn her body into

a vessel for containing a G.o.d's divine spirit. But with a single mistake, she

will lose her mind and body. Looking at her like this... most likely she has

been taken over by our divine spirit.”

”A miko with that kind of ability is almost like a demiG.o.d. It's too unfortunate

for the little lady who battled against her.”

Susanoo and the monk in black delivered their commentary without any

sense of culpability.

Seeing their att.i.tudes, G.o.dou stood up. It was no longer time for gentle

requests.

”Send me there. The faster the better, hurry!”

There was no time to tend to the splitting headache.

G.o.dou forced himself to endure the pain and raised his right arm — the one

carrying the [Sword], pointing at Susanoo.

Making clear that he would show no mercy if refused.

Despite G.o.dou's threat, Susanoo simply ignored him and looked bored

while the monk in black mocked him and went 'hoho, how amazing.'

”Hahaha, good good. Those little ladies would be delighted if they heard

your words. You have not shamed the name of the [King], I am deeply

impressed!”

Hearing such insincere praise, G.o.dou glared at the monk.

G.o.dou gnashed his teeth, but currently he did not have an incarnation to

defeat this mummified monk.

”Rakshasa King, if Your Majesty imagines the place shown here and

makes a wish to be there, it will be done. In a place like the Netherworld,

methods of travel are different from the real world.”

The princess with the pupils of gla.s.s explained humbly.

G.o.dou could not help gazing at her beauty.

Unsure where this beauty came from, G.o.dou lowered his head.

”May Your Majesty's merciful virtues help those girls. That is my humble

wish.”

”That goes without saying! Thank you very much, it's been a great help!”

G.o.dou immediately thanked her politely.

Strangely enough, it did not feel like she was lying.

It was as if the Campione's supernatural sense of danger informed him...

the exact same feeling.

G.o.dou did as she described and imagined the scenery shown on the water

surface. The place where the two girls were, where did such a beautiful

river flow in the Netherworld?

In the next instant, G.o.dou vanished from the little house.

Because of that, the young Campione did not hear the following

conversation.

”That person loves women too much. All it took was the sight of his

concubines in a desperate plight to make him lose all composure. Hahaha,

looks like he is unlikely to perform above expectations.”

”Yes, it's all that brat Ena's fault for coming here and making him believe

there was a crisis.”

The desiccated monk could not stop laughing to himself, while Susanoo

scolded with displeasure.

”It's time we stop using those girls to test the Rakshasa King's disposition. I

am starting to feel displeased, Enlightened Master, Old One.”

Admonished by the princess with eyes of gla.s.s, the two men continued

unfazed.

Part 3

Erica watched as Seishuuin Ena slowly approached with Ama no

Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi. If this continued, she would be slain. Given her

current frail body, what other measures could she take —

Searching in vain with no solution in sight, was it really hopeless?

”Wait, Seishuuin, put your sword away!”

A familiar voice. The figure of the familiar youth appeared between Erica

and the Hime-Miko.

Kusanagi G.o.dou. The youth she was determined to save.

”G.o.dou, you're okay...?”

”Well enough, I will handle this. You should rest for a while.”

With barely enough strength to ask, she could only watch the back of the

youth who answered.

For whose sake did I, Erica Blandelli, come to be caught in this desperate

situation? Though she wanted to call him an idiot, her depleted stamina

caused Erica to abandon the notion. She subst.i.tuted her displeasure with a

relieved sigh.

1 — G.o.dslayer, I cannot follow your orders.'

Ena's lips did not move, and a robotic voice was heard.

Speaking to G.o.dou who stood in front of the weakened Erica, she

continued.

' — As the enemy of G.o.ds, you are also the enemy of me, the divine sword.

To listen to your orders will be my greatest shame.'

”You... are not Seishuuin.”

The calm and penetrating voice once again replied.

'Correct, my master and the miko call me Ama no Murak.u.mo, good that

you know.'

”Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi! That's Susanoo's weapon, and the

Kusanagi sword!”

G.o.dou yelled at the Hime-Miko controlled by the divine blade, the one who

looked like Ena but was not Ena.

Seeing him surrounded by countless flashes of light, Erica got a big shock.

These were the spell words of the [Sword]!

”Susanoo is a G.o.d who shares a long history with [Steel]! His territory Susa

is well known for producing iron ore, and he is the G.o.d of storms. In ancient

times, strong wind provided the greatest a.s.sistance to forging iron by

fanning the flames to make them stronger, and that intense fire can melt

iron!”

The brilliant light of the [Sword] started moving like a stream of meteors,

and flew to attack Ena.

Targeted, she silently kicked at the ground, and began running like the

wind at superhuman levels, intending to escape the onslaught of the

[Sword].

However, it still caught up to her.

Wielding the divine sword with movements like a puppet, she tried to

deflect the [Sword] in vain. Steel that should have cut through the spheres

of light was pushed back by the light instead.

Erica was certain, these were the spell words that can defeat Ama no

Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi.

'...Spell words that can conquer a G.o.d and his belongings. True to the

status of a G.o.dslayer, a most troublesome weapon indeed.'

It was still that robotic voice.

Ena admitted her disadvantage. Ena — no, Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi

controlled the Hime-Miko to jump backwards.

Such a jump would probably require a human-sized cricket or gra.s.shopper,

to instantly create a distance of dozens of meters.

' — Continuing to stay in the Netherworld will cause damage to my miko's

body. It would be wise to repeat this duel another time. G.o.dslayer, I shall

return to the real world, and wait for you there.'

Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi manipulated Ena's body and buried her into

the ground.

Darkness consumed the ground beneath her legs and spread out into a

great patch of jet-blackness.

This was probably the [Door] that pulled the two of them into the

Netherworld. Erica watched in surprise as the darkness gradually

swallowed Ena and the divine blade until they disappeared.

”How could that girl do such a thing...?”

”The current Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi is just like a cheap copy of

Susanoo. With that smelly old b.a.s.t.a.r.d's power, of course it's possible, and

because of that, the [Sword] was effective against her.”

G.o.dou explained as he ma.s.saged his temples.

He was struck with intense pain once again, and the worried Erica hurried

over before him.

”G.o.dou, how are you?”

”Perhaps because I forced myself too much to create the [Sword] to defeat

Susanoo, using it gives me a great headache. I'm afraid I can't continue...”

Evidently, a lot had happened to G.o.dou and he was reaching his limits.

Erica sighed deeply. Though she was concerned about Ena, who had

escaped back to earth, their current biggest problem was being stranded in

the Astral Plane. Was there a way for them to leave...?

It was around six in the evening when Amakasu's phone call was received.

”Ena-san disappeared? So has G.o.dou-san and Erica-san?”

At the Nanao Shrine, Mariya Yuri was greatly surprised to receive such

news.

'That's right. We have been keeping Ena-san under surveillance, actually.'

Hearing this unsettling news, Yuri frowned. The Committee must have

some reason for doing that.

'During the weekend, Ena-san had visited your school and then suddenly

ran into Erica-san and Kusanagi-san, and the three of them vanished

together... What an unbelievable development.'

Amakasu began to recount in detail everything that happened in order.

His tone of voice suggested that he was the one in charge of the

surveillance mission. After all, tailing the highly alert premier Hime-Miko

would not be possible except for a master of concealment like Amakasu.

”There was an inside story after all.”

'It's the elders, there can be no other. What are they planning?'

The elders who even the History Compilation Committee members have to

please.

They were inhuman, supernatural existences. Fairies, demiG.o.ds, holy

monks, ascended ascetics, great magi, vengeful spirits... With all sorts of

different legends, they were a group that surpa.s.sed humanity and

approached immortality. It was said that they had freed themselves from

the natural order of reality and chose to live in the Netherworld.

Yuri recalled the Old One watching over Ena, the frightening G.o.d who was

also known as a [Heretic G.o.d] once.

The ancient deity who possessed the Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi.

Kidnapping a Campione was something that no one but the elders could

do.

However, Yuri could not understand why they were acting so rashly.

This could not be allowed to continue. If she did not learn by trying, she

would not be able to improve her powers of deduction. She wanted

intelligence and wisdom rivaling Erica and initiative that did not require

being led by Ena.

Yuri made a resolute decision as she requested.

”I will now go to school and see if I can discern where G.o.dou-san and the

rest have gone.”

'Actually I was going to ask you to do that, much appreciated. My

apologies.'

The Committee's top investigator seemed a bit happy.

But then he seemed troubled by the condition Yuri proposed next.

'Hmm, I don't think it's a good idea, it's too early for that.'

”No, I believe it is a necessary measure, Amakasu-san. Though it pains

me to put it this way, but please regard it as the price and condition for my

cooperation.”

The ”Hime” part of the term Hime-Miko, was not simply for show.

Indeed, the Hime-Miko organization was ranked beneath the History

Compilation Committee. On the other hand, the reverence and respect for

the bloodline of the Hime-Miko was a tradition pa.s.sed down over a

thousand years.

Amakasu and the members of the Committee did not have the authority to

give a Hime-Miko orders on whim.

Yuri decided to take advantage of her status for the first time.

After about an hour, three people gathered on the sports ground of Jounan

Academy.

Mariya Yuri, Amakasu Touma, and Liliana Kranjcar.

Though the sky was darkening, the sun had yet to set entirely, which is to

say, it was dusk.

In these ambiguous, dimly lit conditions, the silver-haired knight glared at

Amakasu Touma.

”I heard that Kusanagi G.o.dou was kidnapped by the one backing

Seishuuin Ena.”

”Please don't be mad, this time we are also victims... That is why I

suggested not bringing her along.”

Yuri shook her head at the complaining History Compilation Committee

member.

”The magic and knowledge that Liliana-san possesses will definitely come

in handy in this situation. Besides, there is no one else with a witch's

powers...”

She was one who was outstanding in witchcraft.

Actually, this was also Liliana Kranjcar's most valuable disposition.

In terms of martial ability, she was equal to Erica, while Yuri was vastly

superior in spirit vision.

However, Liliana was the only one who could use witchcraft.

Understanding the thoughts of birds and beasts and be able to command

them, flying like a bird in the sky, swimming freely like a fish in water,

gathering forest herbs to make potions, these were all cla.s.sified under the

most talented domain of witches.

”Since Yuri-san insists, I will not object. So please partic.i.p.ate together,