Vol 14 Chapter 1 (2/2)

ominous sign. Indeed, it was the apostle from the realm of absurdity, the

person capable of blowing theories of probability right out of the water —

”What's the matter, Uncle? Eh, Sir Salvatore?”

Then G.o.dou realized he had forgotten about the most dangerous element.

The ancient city of Florence was one of the best known places even in

Italy.

The river pa.s.sing through this city, the Arno, followed the terrain of the

Tuscany region and flowed from east to west into the Tyrrhenian Sea. The

ancient city of Pisa, famous for its Leaning Tower, was located near the

river's mouth.

Indeed, water was essential to human life, thus giving rise to cities

adjacent to bodies of water.

Given that G.o.dou was on a journey to the Arno's headwaters...

It would only be natural to advance east from Florence.

However, the car picking up G.o.dou and Erica went south of Florence

instead, taking them to the city of Siena located roughly in the center of

Tuscany.

This was also a city with ancient origins, said to be a colony of the ancient

Roman Empire of old.

A historical zone preserving streets straight from medieval times, the entire

city was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Renowned as ”the

world's most beautiful public square,” Piazza del Campo was the city's

most famous tourist attraction.

Despite being a plaza covered with red brick, it was actually not flat.

The plaza's surface was shaped like a bowl and sloped gently. Townsfolk

and tourists would take up sitting or sleeping positions on the sloping

surface, spending their time as they pleased.

”Coming to this place feels like a variety show's trip planning...”

Recalling his itinerary for the past day, G.o.dou felt especially weary.

Lake Garda, Verona, Zurich, Milan, Florence and Siena.

These were all historically ancient cities and tourist destinations. But

G.o.dou pa.s.sed through all of them with nary a stop, finally arriving here at

Siena. What an exhausting trip, even crossing national boundaries.

By the time they arrived in Siena, night had fallen completely.

Although this was no time for touring around, G.o.dou and Erica were still

led to Piazza del Campo. Instead of sightseeing, the purpose was for

meeting a certain someone.

”Ah G.o.dou, it's been a while, my dear friend!”

The young man, who had parted ways with G.o.dou only this morning, was

waiting for him.

His cheerful frivolity carried a certain Latin quality indeed, suiting his

personality quite well. Salvatore Doni was the Campione renowned as the

King of Swords.

A black, short-sleeved s.h.i.+rt. Cotton pants. A pair of sneakers. He was

dressed casually as usual.

Furthermore, a long cylindrical case laid fallen by his feet. Undoubtedly, it

contained that dangerous and lethal weapon.

”Just come over yourself if you've got any business. We're on the way to

somewhere else.”

”Well, my dear aide is an excessively strict person, so I'm currently

grounded from travel. He said I'm not allowed to go outside for now

because I've caused too much trouble lately.”

”Wow, your aide turns out to be someone with normal thought processes...

But then again.”

G.o.dou replied to Doni who was grumbling on his own.

The message of ”Let's meet briefly, okayi 1 ” was transmitted from Doni to

Paolo to Erica to finally reach G.o.dou. He could have ignored it, but that

would probably spur Doni into his ridiculous antics again.

G.o.dou only came to Siena because he was worried about this issue.

”So let me say this. Even if you're grounded, don't get us involved.”

”But you're going to exterminate the divine beast that's lurking in Monte

Falterona, right?”

Doni asked with a grin.

To think he would receive the news so quickly as soon as the incident

happened.

G.o.dou shrugged. Although Doni looked like a carefree idiot — No, he really

was a fool in actual fact. But at the same time, he was also cunningly

astute. G.o.dou was deeply struck by how important it was not to

underestimate this man.

”Sorry, but could you step aside...? Just a minor suggestion.”

”You mean you want to slay the monster in my place?”

”Yes yes. This opportunity to make a quick trip and be back before that

annoying Andrea discovers, just yield that to me. You and me, we're best

buddies, right?”

G.o.dou was quite surprised. Indeed, Salvatore Doni was a belligerent man,

but this sort of request seemed really out of character.

”Sir Salvatore. Allow me to point out that there is merely one monster

sighted at Monte Falterona, the one that has been recognized as a divine

beast. For a Campione of your stature, Sir, it would simply be a weak

enemy.”

At G.o.dou's side, Erica interjected with a probing tone of voice.

G.o.dou nodded. Indeed that was the truth. Even as a novice, G.o.dou did not

consider a divine beast to be any sort of threat. Even more so for Doni, the

experienced warrior. Yet for some reason, he wanted to defeat the divine

beast himself.

His insistence was quite strange. Tossing troublesome ch.o.r.es to G.o.dou

would probably be more suited to his liking.

”For a trivial task of this nature, I think you can just leave everything for us

to handle.”

”Yes, you have a point there, but I also have various circ.u.mstances on my

end.”

Doni smiled casually in response to Erica's intervention.

”Circ.u.mstances? What do you mean?”

”Well well. Some things need to be kept secret — ”

Playing the fool to evade G.o.dou's question, Doni picked up the cylindrical

container on the ground.

Then he drew out a longsword of iron. This was the weapon with which he

used his silver arm authority to manifest ultimate sharpness. Doni casually

entered a stance with his sword.

”You intend to slay me to prevent me from exterminating the divine beast?”

”Of course not. Didn't we just have a deadly duel yesterday? I have no

intention of having a rematch suddenly on the very next day. This is just a

wager. Let's play a game.”

Doni readied the longsword before him, pointing its tip at G.o.dou.

”You win if you can block one strike from my sword. I'll yield the divine

beast extermination to you this time. However, if you're unable to stop

me... Let me do as I please.”

”I can't stand you. Just deciding all that on your own...”

G.o.dou bent forward slightly in response to Doni's sudden declaration.

He was taking the posture of a defending infielder in order to guard against

Doni's sword.

Speaking of which — G.o.dou noticed something. Even though it was not yet

seven at night, Piazza del Campo was empty apart from the three of them.

Did Doni use some sort of suspicious magic to drive people away, or did

he use his influence as a Devil King to prohibit access?

In any case, a match was already unavoidable.

”G.o.dou, do you really intend to fight!?”

”The situation will get weird if I leave things to this guy, so there's no

choice.”

G.o.dou answered Erica who was a little worried. At the same time, he kept

his attention focused on Doni.

The enemy raised his right arm, holding the sword in a stance.

In the parlance of j.a.panese swordsmans.h.i.+p, this would be called the

ha.s.sou-no-kamae stance.^ But since Doni's original posture was a

flexible and natural stance, he really seemed like he was sticking to his

claim of not intending to fight seriously.

Only because of that he was making this sort of attacking stance, intending

to enjoy the game.

That said, this was still a dangerous game of death where one false move

could lead to one's demise —

(...I guess I'll just have to try evading using the [Raptorj's speed.)

(...Please be careful. This isn't an opponent who makes things easy.)

After whispering this reminder, Erica immediately retreated.

It was finally time for G.o.dou vs Doni, one on one. The enemy's right arm

glowed with silver radiance.

The previous night's battle had taken place roughly twenty-four hours

earlier. Nuadha's silver arm authority, which G.o.dou had sealed with the

[Swordj's spell words, was already recovered and currently usable.

”Hoho. We already know each other's tricks. This will be no different from

yesterday.”

Doni smiled quietly. This was different from his usual idiotic smile.

Rather, this was a smile of delight with a hint of malevolence, coming from

a man who enjoyed risking his life in battle. The frivolous and handsome

face instantly transformed into that of a dauntless warrior.

G.o.dou and Doni were separated by a mere distance of five meters.

All Doni needed to do was pounce while swinging his sword and the

distance would instantly shrink to zero.

However, the speed and acuity of Doni's swordsmans.h.i.+p was great

enough to unlock G.o.dou's [Raptor].

Verethragna's seventh incarnation possessed speed equal to lightning.

Since G.o.dou was unable to make precise movements due to the

excessive speed, it was not that useful for making attacks.

On the other hand, it was quite a handy ability for defense and escape.

In order to use divine speed the instant Doni swung his sword, G.o.dou

readied his posture.

However, he suddenly trembled for the air around him felt rather heavy.

This was due to Doni's gaze. Without glaring at G.o.dou or making threats,

he was simply gazing cheerfully. One could even call it a gentle and quiet

look.

But G.o.dou was certain his intentions had been seen through.

Every single motion of Kusanagi G.o.dou's body down to the smallest

fingertip, the violent pounding in his heart resulting from the sudden battle,

his breathing —

All were seen through completely. Heard. Observed. A complete grasp.

”He really is an opponent for which defense won't work huh...”

G.o.dou muttered to himself. Just as his foe mentioned, they already knew

each other's tricks.

Salvatore Doni's eyes were capable of seeing through divine speed. He

also possessed mysterious movement techniques allowing him to close in

before one could react, as well as horrifying swordsmans.h.i.+p that was

challenging to evade.

Although this was only going to be a split-second battle, was G.o.dou really

capable of defending against martial arts as varied as a sword G.o.d's?

His gaze met with Doni's. The enemy went ”Hmph” and smiled fearlessly.

G.o.dou had to muster his courage at this moment. If possible, he still

wanted to take the least risky route and use the [Raptor] to evade —

However, in order to crush the enemy's strongest technique, G.o.dou had

no choice but to use his strongest power!

”The one unblunted and unapproachable, oath-breaking sinners be purged

by the iron hammer of justice!”

”I hereby swear! I shall sever all existence in this world, slicing them in half

with but a single cut!”

Precisely because they knew each other inside and out, they were able to

have this sort of simple clash.

Throwing out his trump card before the horrific attack reached him, G.o.dou

then leveraged his residual momentum to defeat his enemy.

As a result, G.o.dou's summoned [Boar] crashed boldly through the stone

tiles of Piazza del Campo to make its way to the ground surface. At the

same time, G.o.dou prepared to charge straight into Doni.

The instant the divine beast was about to penetrate the surface, Doni's

swinging magic sword struck the [Boar]'s pitch black forehead.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

The beast's roars resounded.

Swung by the silver arm, the magic sword stabbed itself deeply into the

[Boar]'s forehead. The divine beast was destroyed by the time half of its

head surfaced aboveground.

However, Doni went ”Oh no!” and cried out.

Although it was excessively reckless, G.o.dou did indeed manage to block

one strike from Doni's sword.

Doni's sword of mental nothingness was achieved by letting the sword and

the body move naturally. Hence, G.o.dou knew that as soon as he launched

a powerful attack, Doni would involuntarily attack in return —

The result ended exactly as he predicted. G.o.dou nodded greatly.

However —

”Although I did wonder if it would turn out like this when you agreed to the

match, G.o.dou... You never let down expectations, do you?”

Gazing at the ”price” paid by Piazza del Campo, Erica remarked in

amazement.

There was a deep crack resembling a fault line.

The ground was cracked open deeply in a straight line, tearing the plaza

apart from one end to the other.

Very likely, this resulted from G.o.dou choosing Piazza del Campo itself as

the target when summoning the [Boar].

As soon as the pitch-black divine beast surfaced from the ground, it

immediately caused destruction to the plaza.

G.o.dou covered his head in his arms. Oh well, because the [Boar] was

exterminated before it truly began to wreak destruction, one should be

satisfied that only this level of damage resulted...

”W-Wait a minute. That was no fair at all. How about another match!?”

On the other hand, Doni kept hara.s.sing him, refusing to accept the result.

While reflecting on his own actions, G.o.dou treated Doni's protests as

meaningless noise.

Although the destruction was a terrible result, one should probably count

their blessings that a commotion's embers were smothered before they

could be truly set ablaze.

Nevertheless, why would Doni be interested in slaying a divine beast?

Just as G.o.dou was about to question him, sirens could be heard in the

distance.

Police or firefighters were apparently on the move. Naturally, they must be

heading here. Probably for the sake of calming down this commotion, Erica

took out her cellphone and contacted someone...

Part 4

In the end, Piazza del Campo's ”aftermath” was handed over to Doni's

subordinates to take care of.

Having fled the scene for now, G.o.dou and company were seeking refuge

in a nearby bar. Standing before them was the young man named Andrea

Rivera.

He was wearing silver-rimmed gla.s.ses and dressed neatly in a suit.

Known for his serious demeanor, he was the one who served as Doni's

butler.

Upon hearing of his job t.i.tle, G.o.dou was filled with the deepest sympathies.

After handling the aftermath by making some calls to local magic

a.s.sociations in Siena and issuing a few orders efficiently, Andrea Rivera

swiftly turned around to face G.o.dou again.

”Regarding this incident, let's consider it the fault of my lord, Salvatore

Doni. We will take charge of the aftermath.”

”I-I'm sorry. I've made trouble for you.”

”No, as someone who serves a king, this is simply a part of my duties.

Please don't let this weigh on your mind... Anyway, putting that aside, may

I have a word with you?”

Ashamed of being Doni's accomplice, G.o.dou was bowing his head when

Andrea addressed him.

”A Campione causing trouble on momentary impulse is something that

cannot be helped. There is no need to respond graciously to my lord's acts

of folly. But please bear in mind the suffering and disaster brought upon

the innocent commoners when you guys are horsing around.”

Righteously and resolutely, Rivera used a calm tone of voice to admonish

the king.

Truly befitting of Doni's chaperone. G.o.dou was greatly impressed with this

fact while feeling indebted to him. The Devil King's Butler turned to Erica:

”So, Erica Blandelli, may I rely on you to handle the divine beast incident? I

must take that idi — Sir Salvatore back to a certain location.”

”Of course you may, Sir Andrea.”

Erica displayed a puzzled expression towards the young man who had

almost called his lord an idiot.

”However, where do you intend to take Sir Salvatore?”

”Sir Salvatore was heavily injured in the fight against Kusanagi G.o.dou and

must go recuperate. He needs to be placed in a quiet environment for now

so as to recover his energy.”

”Eh!?”

Being the man in question, Doni was completely stunned to hear his

butler's words.

He was the man who seemed completely fine in health apart from a

sunburn from the [White Stallion] last night.

Doni's face was filled with a frivolous expression of puzzlement.

”What is this about, Andrea? I do have a bit of a burning sensation all over

my body, but apart from that, I don't really think there's any problem with

my health.”

”Nonsense. This is an excellent opportunity. Why don't you just take it easy

and rest for three or four months, okay?”

Switching instantly away from his respectful att.i.tude towards G.o.dou,

Rivera addressed Doni as equals.

On closer examination, Rivera was twitching slightly near his temples.

Probably due to anger. It was some time later when G.o.dou would nod in

understanding after hearing that these two men were friends from before

Doni became a G.o.dslayer.

The Devil King's Butler spoke with what one would call a ”sullen look of

seriousness and austerity.”

”I have already prepared for you a hospital no different from a prison on a

remote island in the Indian Ocean. You will be forcibly hospitalized in a

special sickroom on the twelfth floor underground. All you need to do there

is cure your brain inside a jail akin to Alcatraz. You f.u.c.king lowlife whose

mere existence causes trouble to the world, you're even worse than tras.h.!.+”

Thinking back, Rivera's outpour of curses and insults was probably the

climax of the whole affair.

Although G.o.dou did suffer some hards.h.i.+p afterwards, no commotion could

be worse than crossing paths with a Campione.

After Doni was taken away to be punished for his follies, G.o.dou and Erica

stayed the night in Siena.

The next morning, the weather was raining unfortunately. However, Rivera

had arranged for a car and chauffeur to send them on the way. Thus

G.o.dou and Erica reached the incident's stage without issues.

This region of Casentino was located on the eastern side of Tuscany.

An area surrounded by natural habitat, one could find lush green fields,

hills, forests and valleys.

In accordance with its designation as a national forest park, the region was

virtually devoid of manmade structures apart from roads and the scattered

homes of residents, as far as G.o.dou could see along the car journey.

As for Monte Falterona which Doni had mentioned, this was Erica's

explanation:

”A streamlet that is born in Falterona / And not a hundred miles of course

suffice it... This is Dante's Divine Comedy. Purgatorio, Canto XIV.”

”So this is the river it's referring to.”

G.o.dou and Erica sat side by side in the rear seats as the car sped along its

way. A stream was flowing beside the road. It was the Arno River.

It was supposed to progressively widen as it flowed through the lands of

Tuscany to become a wide and major river.

Probably due to the rain, the river volume seemed to be higher than

normal.

”So the only place we need to visit is that Falte whatever mountain?”

”It would be ideal if it were as simple as that. However, the target seems to

have left its lair and moved its habitat elsewhere.”

”Where did the monster appear yesterday?”

”Medieval castle ruins at the foot of Monte Falterona. Having said that, the

ruins are just a few castle walls that remain standing. Apart from that,

there's nothing.”

Erica opened and examined a map of the area as she spoke.

”In fact, yesterday's divine beast-like organism has made an appearance in

some other castle ruins. Cras.h.i.+ng into and damaging the castle walls, it

even caused a ruckus before leaving. Luckily, no humans were caught up

in it, but seeing as it's quite close to the city after all... It could get

dangerous.”

”That's very true. By the way, that eel monster that's like a snake — ”

After listening, G.o.dou tried to probe an issue that had been bothering him.

”Since it has gone to castle ruins twice, could it be that it likes old places?”

”That could be true. Alternatively, it might prefer to be near water.”

”Water?”

”Yes. Since ancient times, cities and villages have always been

constructed near water. Based on the terrain, the Arno River basin

naturally contains many towns and structures built since ancient times.

Also, the second appearance was this place.”

”Eh, that's really close to the river.”

Seeing the spot on the map Erica was pointing to, G.o.dou nodded.

”We will be in this place, contemplating our next move while we wait for the

Florentine magi who are tracking the beast. If my predictions are accurate,

we could very well discover the target today.”

”Then let's stay in this area to search for now.”

”It'd be wiser to wait for their investigation's report first.”

G.o.dou and Erica went on standby at a town near Monte Falterona and the

Arno River.

Then at a time one could consider late night, Erica's cellphone received a

report of discovery.

The two instantly got on a car and rushed towards the Arno River.

Then G.o.dou saw it. Beneath the pouring rain, a black and slender creature

was swimming on the surface of the flooded river. Indeed, it did look like a

giant eel.

Putting on a raincoat, G.o.dou braved the rainstorm to enter the torrential

Arno River.

He wanted to observe the ”enemy.” But perhaps because it sensed his

presence, the black creature submerged itself into the water.

Erica was rather intrigued by this wariness, uncharacteristic of a vicious

monster.

”Clearly it remained calm when the searching magi discovered it. Perhaps

it's because it realized you're a Campione, G.o.dou?”

”Are things like divine beasts capable of that?”

”It wouldn't be strange, no, because it's a supernatural creature after all.

Among the monitoring personnel, a spirit vision user apparently saw that

it's a divine beast with ties to a snake deity.”

”So, handling it like an eel isn't actually going to work.”

In any case, there was nothing to discuss until it was caught.

Thus the overnight chase began.

Furthermore, they requested support from the Florentine magi to use

search magic, communicating by cellphone and pursuing by car.

When dawn almost arrived, or rather, during morning...

G.o.dou and Erica finally faced off the monster again.

The place was a rural town called Poppi on the sh.o.r.e of the Arno River.

Around here was a medieval fort dating back to the fifteenth century.

Using borrowed binoculars to observe the monster that was roaming

leisurely, G.o.dou and Erica murmured to each other.

”Not only is it not an eel, it's not even a snake...”

”It should be called a dinosaur instead. I remember seeing a similar one in

an old movie.”

A certain action movie whose stage was set in a theme park where

dinosaurs had been brought to life using the power of science.

Not far from their eyes was a species resembling the dinosaur that became

a symbol of the movie. Called the velociraptor in the story, these

carnivorous dinosaurs were slender, agile, cunning and vicious.

”A true dinosaur fan would probably call it something like the Deinonychus

or the Utahraptor.”

”Oh my, that name really suits its appearance.”

”What do you mean?”

”Deinonychus. It means 'terrible claw' in Latin.”

Hearing the explanation of Erica who was proficient in linguistics, G.o.dou

nodded.

The black Deinonychus before them was walking upright on its tough hind

legs, with a ma.s.sive, sharp, hooked claw on each foot.

Its body was roughly seven meters long, with a slender torso and a very

long tail.

Its dorsal outline was probably impossible to see except for when it was

swimming on the surface of the water.

Especially due to its black color, it was indeed quite easy to be mistaken

for a snake or an eel.

”Normally, no one would expect a dinosaur in this river.”

Finally figuring out how the eel description came about, G.o.dou muttered as

he summoned the [Boar] to defeat the creature.

The battle needed to be finished immediately because it would be

troublesome if the enemy escaped into the water. The pitch-black giant

boar swiftly sent the dinosaur flying in accord with expectations.

G.o.dou could no longer remember how much time it took to knock out the

enemy. Roughly three or four minutes perhaps?

After all, there were other problems outside of combat. The [Boar]'s howls

were mixed with Shockwaves as usual and ended up smas.h.i.+ng the ground

which had softened from the pouring rain.

As it happened, G.o.dou's foothold on a hillside collapsed as a

consequence.

Rolling down the slope, G.o.dou fell into the Arno River and spent several

hours in a predicament, drifting along the flooded river's turbid currents.

Nevertheless, G.o.dou would naturally come to forget what happened in this

region.

This stemmed from the never ending series of conflicts that arrived

henceforth from May of that year, after he became a Campione.

A duel with Doni at the beginning of May, followed directly by the

expedition to Tuscany. After returning to j.a.pan for a week, he was called

to Italy again by Erica and forced to attend a seance with dozens of magi.

When the end of May rolled in, the great event of Athena's duel

happened —

Thereafter, battles and troublesome incidents still continued to take place

in succession.

Various matters, such as the fact of traveling being more exhausting than

combat, were inevitably buried in the back of his mind.

Consequently, G.o.dou had almost forgotten about this incident after the

pa.s.sage of nine months. Nevertheless, what happened back then was

going to lead G.o.dou into yet another troublesome adventure.

References

1 . t Ha.s.sou-no-kamae(A^X(D^^.): one of the five stances of kendo,

an offensive posture with the sword pointing upright and the blade

sloping slightly to the

rear.en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha.s.s%C5%8D-no-kamae

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