Vol 16 Chapter 6 (1/2)

Chapter 6 - Extra Story: The Ill.u.s.trious Sage, True

Lord Eriang

Part 1

”Great misfortune huh...”

Looking at the strip of fortune telling paper he had drawn on a whim,

G.o.dou muttered.

Since he was not a superst.i.tious person who believed in fortune telling,

G.o.dou's only response was to smile wryly.

This happened on his way home from school, when he visited the Nezu

Shrine by chance.

”Oh dear. Something interesting is written here.”

Erica commented beside him as she looked at the fortune in his hand.

In contrast. Erica, who had also come along for her fortune, had drawn the

impeccable outcome of ”great fortune.”

”The one who keeps watch, the nemesis is coming. Matters of conflict,

evasion would be good fortune. — Isn't this predicting a desperate situation

in the next battle?”

”That so?”

G.o.dou replied nonchalantly and shrugged.

”I believe that avoiding conflict with any kind of G.o.d would be considered

good fortune. That's definitely correct.”

Less than half a month had pa.s.sed since the battle against the heretic G.o.d

with the monkey appearance in the land of Nikkou — on the plains of

Senjougahara.

The invincible war G.o.d with vast divine powers and carrying the attribute of

steel. In terms of pure combat power, he was the most powerful opponent

G.o.dou had ever fought to date.

However, G.o.dou had also faced off against deities on the likes of the

ancient Middle Eastern divine king as well as the G.o.ddess of wisdom who

concealed a true serpentine nature.

Oh well, they were pretty much all the same in the fact that every single

battle was very difficult.

In other words, a seven-hundred-story building looked pretty much the

same as a seven-hundred-and-fifty-story building when viewed from the

ground. Something like that.

In response to G.o.dou's sloppy perspective — Erica simply went ”You're not

incorrect” but supplemented:

”However, I am very interested in the one described as G.o.dou's 'nemesis.'

Although your nemeses seem to number many, in actual fact, that's not

always the case.”

”Well, after all, most heretic G.o.ds simply do as they please, so their crimes

eventually catch up to them.”

Realizing what Erica was getting at, G.o.dou answered.

As a Campione, the authority Kusanagi G.o.dou wielded consisted of

Verethragna's transformations, the [Ten Incarnations]. Each incarnation

had its own stringent usage conditions, such as requiring the target to be a

great sinner who had caused the people to suffer, etc.

Moreover, in general, most [Heretic G.o.ds] committed atrocities repeatedly

without being self-conscious of them.

Furthermore, G.o.dou's source of power, Verethragna the guardian G.o.d of

justice, could be described as the nemesis of such evil.

In terms of compatibility, one could conversely describe G.o.dou as the

nemesis of heretic G.o.ds instead.

In particular, both the white stallion that destroyed the people's enemy with

scorching flames as well as the warrior who wielded the sword of light for

tearing apart evil G.o.ds could be considered powerful trump cards against

the majority of G.o.ds.

But G.o.dou realized at this moment that the other girl in his company

looked like she wanted to say something.

Namely, the girl who had drawn ”middle fortune.”

”What's the matter, Mariya?”

”No, nothing much, just something slightly concerning...”

The prim and proper Yamato Nades.h.i.+ko answered vaguely as if feeling

rather troubled.

However, G.o.dou encouraged her to speak, casting a glance that said ”Go

on and tell me.” Yuri timidly spoke up:

”After listening to your exchange just now, I keep getting an uneasy

feeling. I wonder if G.o.dou-san might in the near future encounter an

opponent with rather unfavorable natural advantages — an existence akin

to a nemesis...”

The Hime-Miko Mariya Yuri possessed the power of [Spirit Vision].

Compared to drawing great misfortune, the fact that Yuri felt something

”concerning” meant far more to G.o.dou. Falling into silence, G.o.dou

exchanged glances with Erica beside him.

Was yet another troublesome battle coming in the near future...?

In hindsight, this was perhaps the incident's starting point.

The next day after the fortune drawing —

G.o.dou and Yuri were heading to the Arakawa ward together after school.

They were both in uniform because they headed straight from school. This

was not some personal matter. Otherwise, the blonde and silver-haired

girls would probably have followed along.

However, those two girls had matters they had to attend to separately

today.

The girl who had appointed herself as G.o.dou's grand chamberlain was set

to meet up with them slightly later. But before that, G.o.dou and Yuri were

alone together. G.o.dou could not help but feel quite shy. After switching to

the train, they reached the station closest to the destination and finished

the journey on foot.

Although G.o.dou did not ask, he felt that Yuri must surely be feeling the

same way.

Walking side by side, they exchanged few words, most probably affected

by the mood. Both G.o.dou and Yuri were unaccustomed to the opposite

s.e.x. This was obvious from the current atmosphere.

However...

Very incredibly, G.o.dou did not feel uncomfortable in spite of that.

Walking shoulder to shoulder, the distance between G.o.dou and Yuri was

slightly too intimate if they were merely fellow students from the same

school.

Separated by only centimeters, all G.o.dou had to do was reach out slightly

if he wanted to touch Yuri's hand.

”i-lf little children were in this situation, perhaps they would hold hands...”

Yuri suddenly whispered softly, bowing her head shyly.

Were Erica in her place, she would probably have taken G.o.dou's hand

directly as she spoke.

However, the Yamato Nades.h.i.+ko beside him was probably not going to do

something like that. Instead, she smiled with a shy expression on her face.

G.o.dou smiled gently in response.

This was enough. Somehow, he always felt a sense of mutual connection

in their thoughts and feelings.

Ever since the commotion at Nikkou city, this feeling persisted between

G.o.dou and Yuri.

Despite talking little, there was a sense of solace as they walked casually

together, their destination entering into view.

This was a certain shrine not far from the Sumida River.

There were a few dozen people gathered on the visiting road beyond the

entrance torii.

It happened to be the day of a temple fair, hence the many stalls present.

One could find the usual stalls selling takoyaki, roasted sausage, fried

pancakes with a.s.sorted vegetables, cotton candy, chocolate bananas etc.

”This sight makes me a little nostalgic. I feel like buying something to eat.”

”Is that so? In that case, let us go check it out later.”

Yuri suggested in response to G.o.dou's unintentional mutterings.

G.o.dou immediately nodded to concur. But compared to a temple fair, they

had more pressing matters to deal with first. Yuri proceeded to walk in

front, leading G.o.dou to their destination.

The pair left the lively and bustling visiting road and pa.s.sed through the

protective forest.

Entering the confines of the shrine, G.o.dou could not find any signs of the

priests and shrine maidens who were supposed to be present. Perhaps

they were busy with various tasks and managing the temple fair.

However, there was probably an additional reason why the shrine

personnel could not be found.

Namely, they voluntarily stayed away, knowing that the Devil King

Campione was visiting on this day —

”I've been waiting for you, Onii-sama!”

Coming out from within the shrine to greet them was a young girl dressed

in a miko outfit.

Mariya Hikari. Despite being a sixth grader, she was an apprentice

Hime-Miko who possessed the special power of [Disaster Purification]. In

addition, she was Yuri's younger sister.

”All the preparations are ready. Please come this way.”

Hikari was a precocious girl, wise beyond her years.

Smiling cheerfully, she displayed affection as she nimbly led G.o.dou and

Yuri towards the wors.h.i.+p hall. G.o.dou nodded and followed behind her

together with Yuri.

The interior of the wors.h.i.+p hall was quite vast but rather dimly lit. Naturally,

it was of wooden construction.

Furthermore, there were a few strange objects here — rather, there were

dozens of them lined up.

White statues bearing human form.

Upon careful examination, these solid shapes were made of salt.

All were male with ages ranging from twenties to forties. The expressions

on the salt statues' faces displayed surprise or fear. Most of them were

dressed in suits.

For an instant, they felt like living humans. Such was the realism exhibited

by the exquisite detail of these salt statues.

”These people, could they all be members of the History Compilation

Committee...?”

”Yes. They were the ones who were transformed into statues of salt by the

Marquis' authority when Marquis Voban came to j.a.pan back in June...”

Yuri answered G.o.dou's question.

The most ancient Campione, the Marquis — Dejanstahl Voban had visited

j.a.pan for the purpose of obtaining Mariya Yuri's rare and exceptional spirit

vision.

After G.o.dou fought him to a ”draw,” the Marquis had returned to Europe —

These salt statues before G.o.dou's eyes were his parting gifts.

Pierced by the demonic gaze of Marquis Voban's glowing eyes of emerald,

everyone was transformed into salt.

This was the authority that the elderly Campione had usurped from a

certain demonic deity.

”The Eyes of Sodom... That was what the Witenagemot named this

authority.”

The History Compilation Committee's Amakasu Touma had explained this

yesterday.

”According to reports, all it took was one glare to turn living humans

entirely into salt... Furthermore, if the Marquis felt like it, he was capable of

turning thousands or even tens of thousands of people into salt instantly.

All the people who witnessed the city of Sodom's destruction by G.o.d's

flames were transformed into pillars of salt — This authority was named in

reference to its simple ability to recreate the story recorded in the Old

Testament of the Bible.”

Amakasu normally displayed a inexplicably delighted expression whenever

he said anything profound of this sort.

However, he was speaking with a helpless tone of voice when he delivered

the explanation yesterday.

Furthermore, he was the one who made the request to G.o.dou, asking him

to attempt neutralizing the effects of the demonic gaze.

”I seem to recall it being said that it was a power usurped from the deity

Balor?”

”Is that it...? Somehow, that is not the feeling I get...”

G.o.dou muttered as he looked at the salt statues standing haphazardly

before him while Yuri whispered cautiously.

”Could it be, you saw something?”

”Y-Yes. One-eyed... Body clad in armor. I think it should be ancient — a

divinity from European lands. A one-eyed war G.o.d...?”

Yuri stared behind the salt statues.

The miko with exceptional spirit vision should be able to discern the

appearance of the deity who supplied the authority that had been applied

to the salt statues. Speaking of which, G.o.dou recalled something in

particular.

Marquis Voban was synonymous to the authority of ”wolves.”

This was a power that appeared to stem from one of the monstrous wolves

of Norse mythology, but in actual fact, it was an ability usurped from the

Greek G.o.d of the sun, Apollo.

”That old gramps was already a Campione before the Witenagemot's

founding, so the information back then might not necessarily be

accurate...”

On the other hand, Yuri's vision powers, which were capable of catching

partial glimpses of the truth despite a total lack of clues, should be praised

greatly instead.

if that was the case, perhaps Yuri might be able to discern more important

information?

As G.o.dou cast an inquiring gaze at her, Yuri shook her head

apologetically.

”That is all I can currently see. The sacred name of the G.o.d who created

this authority still eludes...”

”I guess Verethragna's [Sword] can't be used after all.”

”However, I can indeed see that the curse placed by the Marquis has

weakened compared to before. In that case, perhaps the method

Amakasu-san suggested might succeed in lifting it.”

G.o.dou nodded at Yuri's comment.

Did the effects of Campiones' authorities weaken with the pa.s.sage of

time?

With this question in his mind, G.o.dou decided to test things out.

During the period after the battle against Voban, G.o.dou had obtained a

new power despite the fact it was not his intention.

”Hikari, after we absorb the power as much as possible, the rest is up to

you.”

”Yes. Leave it to me, Onii-sama!”

Mariya Hikari agreed cheerfully.

The spirit power she wielded, disaster purification, was the special ability to

neutralize all magical power and wizardry. Even the authorities of G.o.ds or

Campiones could be nullified in part.

Naturally, it did not have the power to erase Marquis Voban's authority.

But if they did it this way...

If this curse of salt which had weakened for some unknown reason was

further drained by G.o.dou, then —

”Ama no Murak.u.mo, please.”

G.o.dou spoke softly to his right arm, where the divine blade Ama no

Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi resided.

This was the ”partner” he had obtained after the commotion in the

Netherworld. After surviving the battle at Nikkou, G.o.dou had come to a

basic understanding of how to use it.

This divine sword, with its long history, possessed the trait of magical

power absorption.

Using this divine sword to absorb the magical power applied by the

Marquis' authority, the curse of salt transformation could very well be

weakened substantially.

Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi suddenly manifested in G.o.dou's hand.

It took on a form that could just barely be considered a j.a.panese sword.

The gently curved blade was quite similar to that of a katana, but was in

actual fact the recreation of an ancient j.a.panese blade called the

Warabite-tou.^''^

In addition, Ama no Murak.u.mo's blade was an ominous jet-black color —

G.o.dou casually made a thrust with the dangerous-looking ”partner” known

as the divine sword.

”Let me absorb the power remaining from that old gramps!”

”Efficacious signs of the bearer of Fortune, I implore your manifestation!”

As G.o.dou gave orders as he wielded the divine sword, Hikari also chanted

spell words to use her spirit powers.

There was a reason why the people who were turned into salt statues had

been transported to this particular shrine. Reportedly, this place wors.h.i.+ped

as its main deity Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi's guardian — Haya

Susanoo no Mikoto.

Apparently, going to suitable lands was necessary to increase the divine

power of Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi.

It was mentioned earlier that members of the History Compilation

Committee had gathered at this place to perform wizardry rituals. As the

divine sword's blade released its power, Hikari also applied her spirit

powers.

In the next instant, Yuri's eyes widened with surprise.

Although the current time was before five in the afternoon, the sky had

already begun to darken.

Having completed their task, G.o.dou and Yuri were walking along the

shrine's visiting road.

People were gathered around the fair stalls in bustling crowds.

Wandering aimlessly among them, Yuri turned towards G.o.dou with a

gentle smile on her face.

”It went quite smoothly for now. Quite a relief.”

”Oh well, hopefully there won't be any lingering side effects in the future.”

Combining Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi and Hikari's spirit powers, the

intended result was achieved.

After receiving a phone call from Amakasu who was currently absent due

to handling other tasks, they were informed that he was coming to settle

remaining matters once he became free later.

Before he arrived, G.o.dou and the girls decided to tour the shrine festival

first.

Hikari went off to change from her miko outfit to casual clothing, thus

leaving G.o.dou and Yuri alone together.

”I'll simply go buy some food from the stalls to take care of dinner. I think

grandpa and s.h.i.+zuka both said they were coming home late tonight.”

”s.h.i.+zuka-san? But there are no activities at the tea ceremony club today.”

”She said she had some kind of promise to fulfill.”

G.o.dou and Yuri conversed as they strolled through the festival at a

leisurely pace.

Whenever their gazes met, Yuri smiled calmly.

Without saying much, they simply enjoyed each other's company with a

sense of inexplicable delight. Surely Yuri was feeling the same thing.

Speaking of which, since they had come directly from school, both of them

were still in uniform.

Taking a detour on the road home from school to spend time peacefully

with pleasant company.

This was precisely the lifestyle of ordinary — or rather, normal students.

Just as G.o.dou was struck by this realization that a high school student was

not supposed to experience...

Yuri tugged at the sleeve of his uniform.

”G-G.o.dou-san. Over there is...”

”What's up, Mariya... Uh, why on earth would she be here?”

G.o.dou s.h.i.+fted his gaze in the direction indicated by Yuri.

A fried noodles stall.

The girl tending to the stall was standing before a ma.s.sive iron griddle, a

spatula in each hand, boldly and vigorously stir-frying a great amount of

Chinese noodles, bok choy, pork and other ingredients.

Dressed in a yukata, she resembled a delivery girl with great sense of

presence. She was someone whom G.o.dou knew very well.

”s.h.i.+zuka, what are you doing here?”

”Ooh — ? Onii-chan and Mariya-senpai!?”

The little sister looked up with an expression of surprise. This was a

chance encounter at an unexpected location. ”I am helping out because of

old man Asakusa's request.”

s.h.i.+zuka explained as she stir-fried noisily.

Her bold and vigorous stir fry technique, which contrasted greatly with her

slender feminine physique, was taught by the aforementioned old man who

lived at Asakusa — an elderly man who could be described as the Kusanagi

siblings' distant relative, now already deceased.

Unlike grandfather Kusanagi's Casanova ways, old man Asakusa was an

upstanding son of Edo.^^^

Although he lived a life of solitude and never married, his commercial

business ”Ichiya” was inherited by someone who stayed in touch with the

Kusanagi family.

”Come to think of it, these stalls are also run by the Tekiya guilds. ”^^^

”Tekiya... What kind of business is that? I have never heard of it.”

Naturally, while the siblings chatted about their relative, the one who

inquired was the sheltered highborn lady unfamiliar with worldly matters.

Before G.o.dou could answer Yuri's question, the younger sister swiftly

motioned with her eyes. Do not explain in too much detail — That was what

her gaze seemed to be saying.

”...Anyway, it's the job of setting up stalls at various festivals and fairs.”

”...They even go to the beach during summer and ski locations in winter.”

”Well, it sounds like an interesting job.”

Yuri displayed a pure and innocent smile in response to the siblings who

evaded the topic of a certain unnamed profession and business that ”was

barely considered a legitimate business nowadays.”

As a side note, the old man mentioned by s.h.i.+zuka was a celebrity who had

opened a new era as a gambler in his youth, with a Kurikara dragon tattoo

on his back. Even VI Ps from the ”industry” attended his funeral.

”If you told me beforehand, I could have helped out as well.”

”Considering how busy you've been lately, Onii-chan, the phone call was

only made to me. Oh well, after all, you'd simply reject the request

anyway.”

s.h.i.+zuka's adorable face cast a severe glare at G.o.dou.

Feeling her disapproving accusation, G.o.dou replied with displeasure.

”Don't go throwing random accusations. Even for me, if an acquaintance

made a request...”

”Onii-chan, are you having a date with Mariya-senpai today?”

”D-Date!?”

s.h.i.+zuka's observation caused G.o.dou to jump in fright.

”Idiot. How could you say something like that?”

”Look who's talking. Let me ask you, what else could it be?”

Glaring severely, s.h.i.+zuka spoke.

”Without even going lionne first, you came liere directly after scliool. Just

tine two of you. Tine situation is plain as day.”

{{#ifeq: {{PAGENAME}}

Campione!:BR SS 4

G.o.dou fell into helpless silence. Yuri also gulped.

Only when s.h.i.+zuka pointed it out to them did they realize that the current

situation was rather difficult to explain clearly.

It was not as if they could honestly say they came to the shrine here to

clean up a mess left behind by the old monster from eastern Europe, right?

But were G.o.dou to attempt deception, he would be in trouble once he got

home later.

Just as he was about to give up, G.o.dou remembered.

The oracle Yuri had received a few days ago. About meeting a nemesis in

the near future or something like that. Could it be referring to s.h.i.+zuka?

But for one's own little sister to be the nemesis seemed a bit much... Just

as G.o.dou muttered such words to himself —

Yuri suddenly spoke up beside him.

”E-Excuse me... G.o.dou-san, s.h.i.+zuka-san, a so-called date refers to the

act of a male and a female going out together to enjoy a delightful time

together... Is that correct?”

Yuri sought confirmation in a greatly fl.u.s.tered manner.

For such a basic question to be asked when things had already come to

this, not only G.o.dou but also s.h.i.+zuka were stunned. The two siblings

nodded emphatically at the same time.

Then Yuri suddenly said the following with a surprised expression:

”What should I do... I, today is my first date...”

”Eh!?”

”B-Because it was just G.o.dou-san and me, the two of us, like this, together

all this time—”

Wrong, totally wrong! Didn't we agree that your little sister Hikari was

coming along slightly later?

Feeling compelled to voice these words, G.o.dou was just about to speak.

However, when he noticed Yuri's inexplicably happy expression despite

her fl.u.s.tered state, he could not bring himself to deliver the words for some

reason.

”A-As I thought, this could be considered our first time experience, right...”

”W-Well, perhaps so... Maybe.”

”I-I think so too.”

”R-Really?”

”S-Should be?”

As her slightly moistened eyes pleaded, even G.o.dou found himself

reacting in unexpected ways.

Instantly, he nodded. I suppose one could view it that way. Thinking that to

himself, G.o.dou had a subtle feeling. But very quickly, he would forget all

about such matters.

Because he saw Yuri smiling with happy satisfaction, which naturally

caused the corner's of G.o.dou's lips to move in turn. The end result

consisted of G.o.dou and Yuri smiling as they exchanged gazes right in front

of s.h.i.+zuka.

”Guh...! I can't believe you're completely ignoring the fact that your younger

sister is watching!? Even grandpa hasn't reached this level yet!”

s.h.i.+zuka began to get angry on her own, greatly increasing the forcefulness

of her noodle stir-frying motions.

In terms of colorful and abundant female relations.h.i.+ps, the grandfather was

unparalleled in his Casanova ways.

G.o.dou frowned in response to s.h.i.+zuka's use of this problematic character

to prove her point.

”Grandpa simply avoids letting his family witness the behavior he's

ashamed of. As for Mariya and me, we're just good friends. There's nothing

to feel guilty about.”

”Ah yes, there is nothing about the relations.h.i.+p between G.o.dou-san and I

that does not hold up to public scrutiny.”

G.o.dou a.s.serted and Yuri immediately concurred.

Ever since the Nikkou commotion, G.o.dou and Yuri as well as Liliana

started attaining a sort of secure state of mind in this area of mutual

agreement. Was it because the cohesion of shared destinies had

intensified, or they had simply started to accept things...

”A-Although lately I've been getting the feeling you're advancing rapidly

along a shameless rascal's path, Onii-chan, I never expected even

Mariya-senpai to get involved, given her inexperience in worldly matters!

Onii-chan, this sort of growth and development is a bit excessive — ”

”Instead of talking about this, aren't the fried noodles ready?”

”Oh no.”

Reminded by her older brother, s.h.i.+zuka immediately calmed her wrath.

Holding spatulas in both hands with great familiarity, she packaged the

large amount of noodles into separate plastic containers.

Not being picky eaters could be said to be the virtue shared by the

Kusanagi siblings.

No matter the quant.i.ty of food filling the dining table or how unpalatable

cuisine they faced, not only the brother but also the sister possessed the

special skill of eating everything without wasting anything.

”Stop acting all lovey-dovey before me, okay. Onii-chan, regarding your

indiscretions in female relations.h.i.+ps, there are countless examples I could

point out to show your need for restraint. Anyway, leaving the topic for

now, would you like to eat some of this?”

With a seemingly generous tone of voice, s.h.i.+zuka gestured towards a

packed serving of fried noodles.

”Oh, please rest a.s.sured, Mariya-senpai. Despite the small size of this type

of stall, all the ingredients bought are very clean. Also, I use water that I

brought here myself by bucket rather than dirty pipe water. Hence, there

are absolutely no hygiene issues.”

Indeed, the junk food sold at stalls did seem quite ill-suited for the

high-cla.s.s lady. Despite s.h.i.+zuka's domineering personality, she was

actually quite considerate of others.

She must have been making use of the labor provided by ”old man

Asakusa's young employees” who were originally stationed at this stall.

Seeing none of them around, G.o.dou presumed s.h.i.+zuka had ordered them

to go buy something or other.

As she listened to s.h.i.+zuka's words, Yuri's eyes began to s.h.i.+ne —

G.o.dou suddenly felt his body suddenly shake and fill up entirely with

power.

This was his body's preparation for an imminent battle.

Because he sensed a deity nearby who must be defeated, as a

G.o.d-slayer — a Campione, his body and mind had entered a combat state.

”...Sorry, but Mariya and I still have things to do. We'll come over again

later.”

G.o.dou immediately looked at Yuri. Possessing spirit senses more keen

than anyone else's, the Hime-Miko also sensed the divine presence and

nodded instantly in return.

”Excuse us, s.h.i.+zuka-san. We shall be back shortly.”

”Oh okay. Oh by the way, Onii-chan, don't you go bringing Mariya-senpai

over to anywhere strange, okay!”

G.o.dou left the stall together with Yuri who was bidding his sister goodbye

seriously.

Listening to the reprimands coming from behind them, they gradually left

the visiting road where the temple fair was being held and entered the

protective forest.

Despite having no idea what was going to happen, G.o.dou decided it would

be best to go somewhere with fewer people around.

G.o.dou and Yuri ran rapidly through the silence of the mixed forest.

They decided to head towards the shrine interior for now. There should not

be any people in this direction apart from Hikari and the History

Compilation Committee members. Just at this moment, Yuri yelled loudly.

”G.o.dou-san, look over there!”

G.o.dou turned his gaze towards where Yuri was looking — a dark area deep

in the mixed forest.

Amidst the darkness, G.o.dou discovered a pair of refined and distinguislied

eyes. Just eyes only. Notliing else could be seen. No figure. Only two

eyeb.a.l.l.s floating in the air.

Moreover, the moment G.o.dou sensed a divine presence from this pair of

eyes —

A third eye opened. Above the pair of distinguished looking eyes, at the

position corresponding to the forehead of a human face, a third eyeball

appeared as a vertical slit opened.

At the same time, G.o.dou was greatly stunned.

The ma.s.sive expanding magical power always ready in a Campione's

body — That magical power was suddenly reduced by 20%.

G.o.dou instinctively felt that the third eye had taken the power. Taking away

from the Campione's body the magical power that acted as the source of

his authorities — ^What sort of deity had manifested with this kind of trait?

Just as G.o.dou began to ponder the situation in preparation for the coming

battle—

”O Bow of Jonathan, the warrior's weapon swift as an eagle and strong as

a lion—!”

The spell words of David resounded all around.

An arrow of blue light flew from behind G.o.dou and Yuri, aiming at the third

eye that just opened. With astoundingly splendid archery, this eye was

pierced right through.

”Are you okay, Kusanagi G.o.dou!?”

The archer sprinted forth, accompanied by this stern voice. Without

needing to glance at her face, G.o.dou knew she was the silver-haired

knight who had agreed to converge later — Liliana Kranjcar had finally

arrived.

G.o.dou nodded greatly in response to the appearance of this reliable

comrade.

He then turned his attention to the enemy with the mysterious ”eye.” The

three-eyed G.o.d who appeared in the depths of darkness had already left

without a trace.

”What on earth was that thing just now...”

”Ill.u.s.trious Sage — True Lord Eriang...”

As G.o.dou's muttering escaped from his lips, Yuri responded in a tiny voice.

Instantly, G.o.dou turned to look at the Hime-Miko who was displaying a

frightened expression on her beautiful face. Was it because she saw

something?

True Lord Eriang.

This was the instant when G.o.dou first heard this curious name.

References

1. t Warabite-tou(M¥ Zl): a sword used by the Ainu people which

influenced the development of the katana.

2. t Son of Edo: Edo was the former name for Tokyo which rose to

prominence as the stronghold of the Tokugawa shogunate. Renamed

Tokyo after the imperial family regained power and moved there, it

became the new capital of j.a.pan. In short, ”son of Edo” refers to a

native j.a.panese man born and raised in Tokyo.

3. t Tekiya(frilM): itinerant j.a.panese merchants who, together with

gamblers, were the predecessors to modern yakuza.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tekiya

Part 2

Within the territory of a certain shrine, Kusanagi G.o.dou encountered the

unidentified [Three Eyes].

Ten-odd minutes after that, Amakasu Touma arrived in a hurry. His true