Vol 7 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Chapter 1 - Wandering Monk Sun L J 5 Havoc in the

Holy Sanctum

Part 1

The sun had already set, and the Nikkou Toushouguu^ was welcoming

the arrival of night.

The Okusha inner shrine for venerating the divine monarch Tokugawa

leyasu^ was around 200m away from the wors.h.i.+p and main halls.

The corner of Okusha had been transformed into a bare mountain top, with

all the lush cedar trees originally surrounding the shrine completely gone.

A young girl was in the sky, looking down upon the bare mountain.

She was wearing a miko outfit with a white garment and a red hakama^

while standing on a golden cloud hovering in the air.

Her face obscured by a mask like a monkey's visage, she was holding the

Ruyi Jingu Bang^ in her hands. This una.s.suming-looking iron staff was

the legendary weapon with innumerable victories under its name.

”Yes, it looks like I'll need to change these clothes to something more

appropriate to my stature.”

The girl — no, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, who had

stolen Mariya Hikari's body, spoke thus.

The miko outfit transformed into a yellow costume decorated with intricate

black and green embroidery. Its sleeves reached down to the ankles, two

very long open slits were on the sides of the outfit, and red pants were

worn underneath.

It was the costume known as ”Kao”^ in Beijing opera.

The monkey mask was also moved to the side, revealing Hikari's face and

the golden-gaze fiery-eyes — namely, eyeb.a.l.l.s of red and pupils of gold.

”Very well, this works for now. Everyone, thank you for your patience!”

The people looking up to watch this transformation were the five humans

Kusanagi G.o.dou, Cult Leader Luo Hao, Erica Blandelli, Liliana Kranjcar

and Lu Yinghua.

”Finis.h.i.+ng off two G.o.dslayers at the same time would be rather tricky... No,

in a certain sense, this is a perfect opportunity. Hohoho, even heavenly

fate is on my side this once.”

The Great Sage Equaling Heaven spoke contradictory words, and then his

divine power began to expand greatly.

What was with this power!? G.o.dou was very surprised. The power

displayed here far surpa.s.sed every deity he had encountered so far —

Melqart, Athena, Perseus.

”Perhaps this snake might come in handy after all, so let me take her with

me.”

Lying on the bare mountain top was the beautiful young girl with wounds

all over her body. Her name was something like Asherah.

The Great Sage on the golden cloud extended his Ruyi Staff and lightly

poked the witch on the ground. In an instant, Asherah's body disappeared

as if he had performed a magic trick.

”Appearances aside, you have at least recovered the nature of [Steel]...

Very well, Great Sage! Now is the time for a decisive end to things!”

Luo Hao yelled with a high-pitched voice at the Great Sage, who had

restored his Ruyi Staff to its original length.

However, her body was still shaking and it looked like her injuries had yet

to recover.

In order to save Hikari, G.o.dou also intended to challenge the Great Sage,

but his body couldn't move. This was the after effect of using the [Raptor]

incarnation, which currently paralyzed his body and made his heart suffer

intense pain.

”G.o.dou, if you were to challenge him in your current condition, I believe it

would be a very tough battle.”

”Yes, even though I understand very well your wish to retrieve Mariya

Hikari's body, you and Her Eminence Luo Hao both need to rest and

recover your powers. We would do well to retreat for now.”

From his side, Erica gave a warning and Liliana also made a suggestion to

G.o.dou.

G.o.dou agreed. However, the question was whether the Great Sage would

let him leave.

”So let us end the intertwining of our fates which started long ago. Though

there are two of you here, I will take care of you both together.”

Just as suspected, the Great Sage was smiling with mockery using Hikari's

face, and even spoke with her voice.

Standing on the golden cloud, he was coldly overlooking everything across

the land. However, his eyes only saw Luo Hao and Kusanagi G.o.dou as

targets while completely ignoring all others.

”The earth's condition is receptive devotion / Thus the superior man who

has breadth of character / Carries the outer world. Kun^ is the nature of

earth!”

Forming mudra^ with one hand, the Great Sage began to chant a mantra.

The change suddenly took effect. Petrification. The ground of the now

barren mountain of the Nikkou Toushouguu's Okusha inner shrine was

completely changed into solid rock, bleached white as if snow had covered

the land —

G.o.dou and the rest were standing on ground which turned into grey stone

within the blink of an eye.

”Hahahaha! I will use the secret art of the stone mountain's rocky caves to

imprison you two!”

In the cedar forest around Okusha — all the trees began turning into stone

continuously. With Toushouguu Okusha as the center, the petrification was

spreading all around like a wave.

And then G.o.dou's body also gradually lowered into the ground — sinking

into rock. First it covered his ankles followed by his knees, and then it

immediately reached his waist and would soon cover his chest and finally

his head. As he turned his head to the side, he found the transcendent

beauty, the other Campione, also sinking into the ground!

”Hmm...! Planning on sealing us away!?”

”Haha, correct! Though you're both injured, I'm not going to underestimate

you G.o.dslayers... Eh, rather I should say that being injured makes things

more frightening because you are a crazy bunch who doesn't follow

common sense. I didn't come to revive all this way just to take a stupid risk

like that!”

The Great Sage was replying to Luo Hao using Hikari's voice.

”— G.o.dou!” ”Kusanagi G.o.dou!?” ”Master!”

By the time Erica, Liliana and Lu Yinghua's yells were heard, the two

Campiones had almost sunk completely.

Inside the rocks was pitch black, but G.o.dou could still see the sinking

beauty beside him.

”Sun Wukong has mastered the Immortal^ arts, and is a deity with

unlimited divine powers. Though he carries the traits of the warlord of

[Steel], he is also a G.o.d highly skilled in magic. To be imprisoned by such

tricks of his, I was far too careless.”

Luo Hao was lightly murmuring in the dark.

G.o.dou was going to ignore his chest pain in order to respond, but Luo Hao

suddenly smiled.

”Did you use up all your strength in the battle just now? Though it is the

privilege of young ones to fight without considering the future, for you to

obtain victory from me at such a bargain... King Kusanagi... You are quite

something.”

”1-1 defeated you? Please don't joke with me.”

”It is fine. Even though it is officially a draw, taking into account the

difference in experience, the victor is apparent. For a renowned master like

me to lose to a young upstart like you, it is an unforgivable mistake. I, Luo

Hao, am not one of those stupid fools who deceive themselves.”

The demonic cult leader showed a slightly displeased expression.

”As the Ruler of the Martial Realm, I approve of your ability. In the match

just now, I definitely lost.”

G.o.dou was speechless as he endured the pain. The battle to the death

just now was only a compet.i.tion to her, as if having a kendo match and

being indignant over thoughts like 'I lost a round to that guy!' Is that how

she was feeling?

”By the way, King Kusanagi, do you know magic that allows you to survive

without water and air?”

”How could I? Other than the ability to fight G.o.ds, I'm just an ordinary

person.”

G.o.dou's answer to Luo Hao's sudden question plunged her deep into

thought.

”I see... If that's the case, it would be best to return you back to the

surface.”

”Back to the surface!? I can get out of here!?”

”Yes. Until the Great Sage's spell finishes, there is still a window of

opportunity. If I use my remaining qi^°l I can send one of us back to the

surface.”

Luo Hao's offer was quite surprising, but G.o.dou immediately objected.

”But in that case, Your Eminence will have to stay in the Netherworld!”

”I don't mind. King Kusanagi, have you not noticed? The air here is getting

thinner. The Great Sage is not so merciful as to provide food and water for

us captives.”

G.o.dou had excellent instincts, but Luo Hao was a far sharper person than

him.

After hearing her explanation, G.o.dou couldn't help but s.h.i.+ver. True, there

was no reason for that monkey to treat his prisoners well.

”I am the Ruler of the Martial Realm, the one standing at the pinnacle of

Daoist practices. I have long conquered this kind of ascetic training over a

hundred years ago, so let me stay.”

”Y-You can survive without air and water, that's really amazing. But still!”

”No problem. If I abandon you and return to the surface alone... Just the

thought of that brings a horrible outcome!”

”Ho... Horrible outcome?”

”Correct. Think about it. If I abandon you who just won our match, rumors

will begin to spread, saying I took revenge for my defeat. I will be seen as a

despicable scoundrel who has betrayed the path of heroism and chivalry!”

”Ah... I see now.”

Facing Luo Hao's voluptuous figure, G.o.dou nodded.

It was a declaration that deliberately downplayed the benevolence of her

offer. She was truly a person with exceptional pride.

”Of course, I don't plan on being submerged here forever, I will surely find

a way to escape... King Kusanagi, in the meantime before I return, you

shall have a splendid battle with the Great Sage Equaling Heaven in my

stead.”

Was this the price of accepting her help? She was now ordering him like a

subordinate.

Still, G.o.dou felt troubled. Can this stone prison be as easy to destroy as

she said?

”No problem... I've already spoken, I am the one at the Daoist pinnacle,

and will surely find this prison's weakness and destroy it. You don't have to

worry.”

The slight anger of Luo Hao's reproach showed that she had read his

concerns.

”Then let's start — Great Sage of the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper, dispel

the disaster of the inauspicious spirits!”

m 11

Using a beautiful voice melodic like a yueqin 1 J , Luo Hao chanted the

incantation, and took out a rectangular piece of paper. On it was written

complicated script along with the six large characters ”Ba Gua Zhi Jing Ji

Ji”^ 1 and then she threw this talisman away.

The talisman transformed into a white tiger. Then flying through the air, the

ferocious beast attacked G.o.dou.

The white tiger opened its great jaws and the fangs skillfully caught

G.o.dou's neck and lifted him. G.o.dou found his body rising continuously.

Within the blink of an eye, he was greatly distanced from the slowly sinking

Luo Hao.

”King Kusanagi, I wish you victory. Go fight a battle worthy of a hero.”

The transcendent beauty continued to maintain her airs of superiority and

spoke these parting words to G.o.dou.

Part 2

In the s.p.a.ce of black emptiness, G.o.dou and the white tiger flew upwards.

This probably lasted only a couple dozens of seconds, and he suddenly

left the darkness and returned to the surface.

This was the area of Toushouguu Okusha, which had been turned to

stone. Having stolen Mariya Hikari's body, the Great Sage Equaling

Heaven continued to casually ride his cloud.

On the ground, Liliana was in a battle stance, wielding a naginata that

G.o.dou had never seen before, while Erica endured her injuries to hold

Cuore di Leone and Lu Yinghua extended his palms.

Their gazes were drawn to the returned G.o.dou.

Having accomplished its mission of bringing G.o.dou back, the white tiger

disappeared like a puff of smoke.

”G.o.dou, you came back safely! But where is Her Eminence Luo Hao?”

”She fell down in order to save me, but she said she will escape by her

own power.”

G.o.dou answered Erica's question simply.

Since he was still in his immobilized condition, the act of speaking took

great effort. With an understanding expression, Lu Yinghua nodded at

G.o.dou.

”That's very like one of Master's typical excuses. She probably thought that

if she abandoned Kusanagi-sama and came back alone, unpleasant

rumors would spread about her in the field.”

Apparently quite knowledgeable in his master's personality, Lu Yinghua's

answer was completely correct.

”Ho — escaping alone? Looks like you guys are just as difficult to handle

as I expected.”

Sitting on his cloud, the Great Sage began to swing his Ruyi Staff around.

Liliana held her breath and gathered her concentration as she ran over to

G.o.dou's side.

”Everyone gather together! We are flying to the foot of the mountain to

meet up with Mariya Yuri and the rest!”

She was likely planning on using the technique of high speed [Flight].

But could they really escape? ...One really couldn't expect Sun Wukong's

legendary somersault-cloud to be slower than witchcraft. Just as these

worries crossed G.o.dou's mind...

”Hmph, trying to escape is futile. Old Sun here is very confident in my

lightning speed. Even far into the distance, a hundred and eight thousand

away, I can cover it with a single leap — Hmm!?”

On his cloud, the Great Sage grabbed his knees and screamed as if

suffering from an invisible attack.

Though his overwhelming divine power remained, his body was not acting

under his control.

”I am not sure what is going on, but here is our chance!”

Seeing the Great Sage undergoing some unexpected change, Liliana held

G.o.dou's body in her arms.

Erica and Lu Yinghua also gathered around and the entire group began to

fly, surrounded by blue light.

Once the destination was decided, flight magic had to immediately take off

and cannot travel to an unfamiliar destination.

Though it had many restrictions, it was still a very convenient magical

technique. The group pa.s.sed through Toushouguu's main and wors.h.i.+p

halls, then flew over Karamon Gate and the divine stable. From the sky,

they could see that Toushouguu, Futarasan Shrine, and Rinnouji's

buildings, cedar forest, land, vegetation and springs had all been turned

into stone.

As they landed on the visiting path at the foot of the mountain, Yuri and

Princess Alice ran over to them.

”Mariya! I'm sorry, Hikari was taken by that monkey... The Great Sage

Equaling Heaven stole her body...”

”Yes, I already know. The Princess used ecto — that method to watch

G.o.dou-san and Her Eminence's fight, and told me what just happened.”

Just as G.o.dou wanted to apologize, Yuri interrupted him.

The Princess skilled in spirit body separation also nodded at him.

”The entire mountain has been invaded by immense divine power as a

result of the Great Sage transforming it into a stone prison for sealing Her

Eminence Luo Hao and Kusanagi-sama away. If the spell is not dispelled

in a few months or perhaps a few years, Her Eminence may very well be

trapped forever — ”

Alice's words made everyone survey the surroundings where petrification

had already reached the foot of the mountain.

This included Toushouguu's entrance torii^ 14 ^, the five-story paG.o.da near

there, the main visiting path leading to the holy sanctum, the cedar forest,

the road made from gravel and soil, as well as the drainage ditch on the

side of the road.

Everything within their sight had turned into stone, with G.o.dou's group

being the exception.

”But... How come you don't seem worried about your master?”

Erica asked Lu Yinghua.

Everyone else looked worried, but he was the only one untroubled.

”Because she is just imprisoned, not dead. a.s.suming that is the case, let

us gamble and see if Master can find a way to free herself alone.”

The proper-looking handsome youth scratched his head with poor

manners, and answered with a disinterested tone.

”Oh my. On what basis do you make such a statement?”

”Is there any need? Think about it, if the same had happened to your own

king, how would you feel? I think all you Nee-sans will worry, but definitely

won't write him off as dead, right? It's the same principle.”

Lu Yinghua's explanation surprised Erica, but she smiled wryly, while

Liliana and Yuri also looked at each other and nodded with emphasis.

G.o.dou wanted to object. Don't talk like I'm some kind of monster!

”Rather than that, I've been curious about this for a while now... Where

have all the people, who were here this evening, gone to now? There were

no people at all in the area near Master and Kusanagi-sama's battle.”

That's right. Lu Yinghua's observation prompted G.o.dou to ponder.

Just at that moment, he felt a presence approaching.

From the depths of the petrified cedar forest, a group of small animals

were approaching — monkeys.

There were almost a hundred of them. Many of the monkeys hid in the

petrified tree, and were watching G.o.dou's group from amongst the

branches they had climbed onto.

”What's with these guys? Did the Great Sage summon wild monkeys?”

”If he did, then there are too many. I have a bad feeling about this.”

The one who responded to G.o.dou and Lu Yinghua's doubts was Yuri, who

possessed spirit vision:

”These monkeys... No, they were originally humans, transformed into

monkeys by the Great Sage's divine power. I am wondering if they are the

tourists and people on the streets who had stayed in Nikkou mountain just

now...”

The Hime-Miko explained in a trembling voice. When a [Heretic G.o.d]

appeared on earth, many supernatural phenomena would occur. Was it the

transformation of people into monkeys this time?

As G.o.dou felt speechless, a familiar voice was heard through the pitch

dark night.

”People of my kingdom, listen well! My enemy the G.o.dslayer and his group

have escaped! I will reward well the one who catches them!”

It was Hikari's voice, but clearly the Great Sage from the tone.

The monkeys made a noisy ruckus and turned their gaze to G.o.dou's

group, their eyes full of murderous intent.

”If they were to attack, as knights... We cannot hit them recklessly. This is

not good.”

”Very true, try not to harm them and simply make them lose the ability to

fight.”

As Erica complained, Liliana spoke gloomily. On the other hand, the other

main combatant Lu Yinghua looked very relaxed.

”I won't feel sorrow even if I kill them, but there'd still be a shred of guilt.

How about letting me prepare us a car to escape?”

”Prepare? Did you guys come here by car?”

The young master of the Lu family smiled at G.o.dou maliciously.

”Of course not, but right now in the nearby parking lot over there, aren't

there many cars with owners who had been turned into monkeys? We can

have our free pick. Luckily the Lu family has many subordinates with

talents in this area, and I picked up a bit of skill from them. Opening locks

and driving are not a problem.”

Was this guy really a member of upper cla.s.s society? The one who cleared

this doubt was Erica.

”Perhaps you all have misconceptions about this guy, so let me clarify. It is

rumored that the ancestors of the Lu family have roots in triads, or in other

words, you can call them the likes of gangsters and robbers directly.”

”Really, Erica-neesan, please use something a little more cla.s.sy like

'heroic outlaws', OK?”

Lu Yinghua quietly laughed to himself.

”Probably like the Three Heroes and the Five Gallants^ or the Outlaws of

the Marsh^, those who call themselves heroes or martial artists often

had roots as outlaws. Tracing back the exploits of the ancestors, they did

take part in activities like ”thievery”, but the Lu family prides itself for never

having a member who turned out to be an evil villain.”

”Pretty much along the lines of thieves, bandits, pirates, mounted robbers,

highwaymen...”

Regarding this triad member who proudly admitted to his roots, Liliana

whispered with an impressed tone:

”Though the current situation is dire, if given a choice we should not

deliberately break the law... Erica, I will use flight magic once more. Help

me stall for time.”

”Got it. Please find us a safe hiding place.”

As Erica nodded, Liliana closed her eyes. When using flight magic in

unfamiliar lands, it was necessary to use vision spells to confirm the

destination.

”Embers cast into the black metal cauldron. May the essence of the red

wheel appear above my hand!”

Erica chanted the spell words, and fire surrounded G.o.dou and his group.

The one-meter tall flames blocked the gaze and murderous intent of the

monkeys like a wall. This was a move intended to restrain and defend

against the monkey army.

A few particularly vigorous monkeys tried to make a leap, but the fire wall's

height instantly doubled. Burnt by the red tongues of fire, the monkeys

noisily retreated to their group.

”Oh... You realized that my servants are actually your fellow humans? How

clever! Then I must prepare even more interesting tricks to handle you

guys — ”

Hikari's voice once again... No, it was the voice of the Great Sage. He

seemed a lot craftier than the average monkey, but did not sound like he

was going to attack. Perhaps it was true he couldn't fight personally after

all?

As G.o.dou was sent into deep thought, Yuri suddenly tried to survey the

surroundings.

”Yuri, did your spirit vision see something?”

”Yes, that is correct, Erica-san! Something very dangerous is approaching,

a threat that requires high alert, it should be here immediately — everyone,

look up!”

G.o.dou turned his gaze upwards and had a great shock.

A monkey was descending from the pitch black darkness of the sky, its fur

having a copper color with a shade of orange, with the body size far

exceeding normal monkeys. Cras.h.!.+ A ma.s.sive noise reverberated and the

ground shook as it landed.

Descending upon the main visiting path, this monkey was taller than

normal cedar trees.

Roughly twelve, thirteen meters in height, it had a strongly-built physique,

long arms and short legs, and a stout and giant body resembling

something in between a gorilla or an ape.