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Campione! - Volume 1 - Chapter 2.2




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Part 2

The lion happily chased after the maniacally dodging Godou.

It struck with lightning speed with its front paws, or attacked with canines or claws as sharp as swords, tearing things apart, and sometimes flung its body at him, as though it was trying to crush a small animal. "It seems as though his Majesty isn't very motivated for this duel." The person who said this to Erica was the nearby [Purple Knight].

At some unknown time, he must have used sorcery, because he was now standing on the top of the wall.

"If he only continues to dodge and evade, there will be no means for us to determine his strength. Well, your expression informs me that you pre-empted what I said long beforehand."

In reply to the tall youth's comment, Erica revealed a brilliant smile.

"I already considered that this might very well happen. Besides, my Lord never enjoyed fighting with people... however, that is only at the beginning of a duel."

"Oh? So what you mean is...?"

"However my Lord tries to deny it, he is a Campione. He is one able to equal a god in combat, a man who has usurped the ultimate, unconquerable power. Despite his constant words to the contrary, he cannot truly hate combat. If all Campione are similar, Kusanagi Godou too is a genius at the art of battle, and is also a victor amongst victors." "Umm... although I do not disagree, he is still most skilled at evasion."

The [Purple Knight] looked down suspiciously at him.

Erica looked lovingly at the youth, who was desperately running here and there.

"Things will change soon— he is almost at the point where he has nowhere else to run to. The parliament has a report on Kusanagi Godou, have you perused the document?"

"I have read it, but it is hard to believe, and I remain highly skeptical."

"If we judge the report based on its trustworthiness, perhaps about 60% of it is accurate. To be able to conduct such good investigations is quite impressive."

"So you're telling me that what is in the document is real? That Kusanagi Godou's ability is to adapt to the enemy he is facing and the surrounding situation —— an ability that gives him the strength to overcome all obstacles?"

"Of course! Please watch, [Purple Knight]!"

Before their eyes, the situation suddenly reversed.

Facing the lion's looming front paws, Godou took a stand for the first time.

In order to escape being mauled by the sharp silver claws, he carefully stepped back then leapt forward, and wrapped both arms around its paw.

Then he lifted it up.

Grabbing on, he simply lifted the immense bulk of the lion.

Just like a weight lifting competitor, Godou, measuring 179 centimeters, raised the huge lion, as large as a truck, high into the air.

"What ——! What sort of strength is that!"

"In myth, it is said that the hero Hercules had divine strength, enough to support the sky. The war god that Godou defeated, Verethragna, has a very similar origin to Hercules— hence Godou can equal him in terms of strength."

Erica proudly explained to the dumbfounded [Purple Knight].

Godou had now already raised the silver lion to face the heavens, and the lion's four feet were off the ground, flailing about in the air.

One could call that a strange strength beyond the ordinary.

"I remember that this was written on the parliament's report, '... We have termed the ability that Kusanagi Godou obtained the [Persian Warlord]. The battle deity Verethragna's ability was to change into ten different forms, entering countless battles and leaving each victorious. Hence Kusanagi Godou is clearly also a monster, able to change his strengths at will ——"

An elder suddenly interrupted with those words.

The commander [Female Wolf] had appeared at some time at Erica and the [Purple Knight]'s side.

"Oh, Venerable—— is it just you?"

"Mmm. That old rascal from Turin is still hiding like a mouse in a corner somewhere. I certainly don't intend to miss seeing the new Campione's strength up close, so let me watch his strength with my own eyes."

The commander [Female Wolf] spoke in the Roman dialect, impolitely tossing out her insult, and even let a smile spread across her face.

She was the leader of Rome's knights and sorcerers, and disliked the [Old Dame] who had their stronghold at Turin.

"I felt Lord Salvatore to be very young when he became a Campione, and this time, the King here is even younger. Other than sharing that godly strength, is Kusanagi Godou able to change between different abilities?"

"So if Kusanagi Godou wishes to use those abilities, a requirement is that his enemies had strength enough to overwhelm him?—— at least, that is what the parliament's report said about it..."

The magical leader of Rome and the [Purple Knight] spoke in unison.

Facing the inquiring looks of the pair, Erica grinned with satisfaction and replied calmly.

"When he meets an enemy with unnaturally great muscular strength, Kusanagi Godou is able to obtain and use one of Verethragna's ten forms:

the [Bull]. Verethragna has ten transformations in total, and while it is currently unknown if he can utilize all of them, it is confirmed that he already has a few."

A gust of [Wind], the [Bull], the [White Stallion], the [Camel], the [Boar], the [Youth], the [Raptor], the [Ram], the [Goat], and the [Hero].

When the ten transformations of Verethragna are compared, the [Bull] and the [Camel] are most closely related to the earth, but they are also a direct symbol for those greatest in strength, greatest in constitution, and greatest in fighting spirit.

Hence these attributes naturally became identified with divine powers or a symbol of fierceness, receiving adulation and reverence.

And today, before their eyes, Godou easily destroyed the silver lion.

The lion's huge bulk was lifted and flung out, and crashed into the ground.

Next, he rushed on top of the sprawled lion, stepping on its neck and chest with his foot.

Then, he grasped the foreleg, and wrenched with his feet placed firmly on the lion's body. The lion was easily ripped apart.

Next he attacked the lion's chin, chest and abdomen, viciously kicking it without pause, till its entire body resembled a V shape.

"—— I've destroyed your toy! So now you'll fight me personally, right? Get down here, I'll end this now!"

"Oh, he finally got serious."

Godou looked up unhappily at Erica.

Seeing Godou's unsatisfied look, the [Purple Knight] nodded with satisfaction.

"For someone who usually mouths off about pacifism, he seeks victory without mercy when he warms to the fight... Well, my lover is calling for me, so I'll excuse myself."

The agile Erica leapt to the ground.

Watching the golden-haired maiden beautifully execute the jump, Godou once again felt a sense of regret.

Who would have thought that in this foreign country, he was forced to duel with someone again...

Although he had already guessed this was a likely outcome when he agreed to Erica's plea for him to come to Italy, he couldn't help but feel depressed when this actually happened.

"... Erica, you know that difference between a civilized man and a savage one comes from the degree of capability in dealing with thing in a civilized manner. I'm begging you; can you please learn to curb your violent instincts, and your frequent need to go making trouble for others? Do you know how hard it is for those who try to stay around you?"

"Still, on the same old topic? I don't see any problem with it, especially because while you always start off shunning a fight, the minute it actually starts you get so serious. You actually really love this, don't you? Why not be a little more honest with yourself?

Facing Godou's endless complaints, Erica replied flippantly.

"You are a King and I am a knight. We have an obligation to stage an intense but exquisite duel. So let us fight each other with all our love, and make this duel the climax of our romance!"

"From my experience, lovers don't bet their lives in duels like this! Don't go pushing your ideas of romance on other people!"

Godou both retorted violently, and carefully watched the golden-haired maiden.

The silver lion had already been smashed, and so Erica should have lost the materials for her longsword... but he couldn't imagine Erica becoming unarmed because of that.

"O Cuore di Leone —— you are the unyielding blade. 'Til my fighting spirit is broken, my sword will never shatter. O lion, I implore you once again; return into my hand!"

Erica stretched out her hand towards the silver wreckage of Cuore di Leone.

The wreck, which originally had the shape of a lion, began to shrink; the torn portions began to meld back together, and again changed its form.

Miraculously, the wreck molded itself back into a sword, and flew back to Erica.

"You're still doing such absurd things, and after I finally managed to break it..."

However, this was all still in his expectations.

'Erica coming to the battle field without a sword? That's impossible.' Godou, who understood this logic, looked on with an unsurprised gaze.

Thank goodness the monstrous strength from the [Bull] was still present.

He could probably still use it for another ten minutes or so, and hoped that he could achieve victory in this time limit.

—— That power of Godou's, which London sorcerers named the [Persian Warlord], was an ability that gave him unimagined power, but only in special, specific circumstances.

For example, calling upon the [Bull], he is able to wield a godly strength.

But before it can be used, he must be facing an enemy with extraordinary physical power.

That said, however...

Last month, Godou was attacked by a man weighing 138 kilograms (who obviously knew martial arts). However, he was unable to manifest the [Bull], and suffered extremely painfully. It seemed that only a superhuman type of strength—— say, a train carriage which was hurtling at full speed, or a man eating tiger which weighed more than 300 kilograms; if that was the sort of enemy, he could call it forth.

In addition, there were skills which Godou could only use when he had suffered a fatal injury.

Even if these skills could only be used to fight 'great sinners who have brought great suffering to the people', each and every skill seemed to make people fear that it was a type of evil itself. And besides, the requirements were all extremely troublesome to fulfill.

"... For I am strongest amongst the strong. Truly, I am one that holds each and every victory. I care not whom challenges me, whether man or devil— I may face all my foes and all my enemies. Regardless, I shall crush all those who wouldst stand in my way!"

Godou, while contemplating the mighty aspect of the bull, muttered this verse.

This was a battle hymn chanted to call the war god Verethragna to the fight. To put it simply, it was a method to maintain the god's strength, like a fuel to keep it burning.

He still had ten minutes before the strength of the [Bull] receded.

If he used a form once, he would have to wait a whole day before he could use it again. And if he changed to a different form, the currently active one would vanish. Hence, Godou could not use it carelessly.

So while his ability was ridiculously strong, it also had many restrictions on how it was used.

"I have to hand it to you, Godou. Although you're still blabbing about 'pacifism', your body and mind have already readied itself for the fight—— it's because of this that you qualify to be my lover!"

Erica praised him in that annoying way, and then pointed with her finger.

Thrust in the ground next to Godou's foot was a greatspear, about one and a half meters. It was probably similar to Cuore di Leone, both summoned by Erica's magic.

"... You want me to use this?"

"Of course, the honorable Erica Blandelli would never duel with someone completely unarmed. For the current Godou, wielding that spear should be a piece of cake, right?"

"Why do you only think when it comes to this sort of thing... since you want to make the fight fair, why not put down your weapon? That way it'll be fairer."

Godou sighed and picked up the spear.

He remembered that in his hand was Erica's beloved spear, which had a magical core embedded in the handle. It was so heavy even a grown man couldn't lift it, yet she so easily twirled and raised this steel spear. Truly, what monstrous strength.

It was probably the benefits of a body strengthening type of sorcery.

Though Erica seemed slender and frail, the strength in her grip was far greater than Godou's.

But that was only in normal circumstances. To the current Godou, even if this spear was three times heavier, he could still pick it up as easily as a toothpick.

Godou shifted his grip on the spear like a baseball bat, and a gust of wind was produced by the single movement.

—— Erica happily charged at him.

Just like a shadow, it was impossible to see her movements, and because her violent actions had almost no wind resistance. This sort of technique could only be patiently trained.

Cuore di Leone silently moved through the air.

When Godou finally realized that, the silver blade was already approaching his face.

"—— Can't you be more careful?! You're fighting a novice!"

To make a comparison, what just happened was like a world class boxer punching with all his might.

And this wasn't some fleshy fist, but a deadly, hard blade.

Just as if he was playing a game of dodge ball, where Godou prioritized evading the speeding ball aiming for his head, he evaded Erica's sword thrust.

Because he had never learnt any martial arts, he could only rely on his sharp eyesight and fast reflexes to preserve his life.

"But Godou, anyone able to dodge my attack just now definitely cannot be called a novice."

"But that was just by luck, and you're aiming for spots which are 100 percent fatal if they strike home!"

Ever since he had become a Campione, the moment he stepped onto a battlefield, his concentration could rise to an unimaginable level.

It was also thanks to this that he was able to see Erica's superhumanly fast sword thrust.

Godou had played baseball ever since he started primary school. In middle school[9] he would have been the catcher or the fourth hitter – cleanup even in semi-professional teams.

At that point he was in his physical prime, and he could match any fastball thrown by the opposition.

Perhaps because of that, he was more comfortable with a Campione's constitutional abnormality.

The 'constitutional abnormality' that Godou was thinking about, was his ability to suddenly heighten concentration and maintain his peak physical condition, the minute he entered a battlefield. If he could use this during normal sporting events as well, he was confident he could hit a homerun even against a ball-throwing machine of 190 miles an hour.


...In fact, he could probably engage that change.

The moment he had to go all out, his body would naturally configure itself for optimum functionality. It had become like this ever since Godou became a Campione.

Although Godou loves sports, he did not enter a sporting club in high school.

This was because he felt that this ability of his was too unfair, too much like cheating, when competing against other people.

"Damn you, ever since we started you've done whatever the hell you wanted—— I'm warning you now, I can't control the strength of my attack, so you'd better dodge well!"

Thus Godou shouted while brandishing the spear.

Although he was never interested in dueling, he knew that in these circumstances, if he only defended and never attacked, it was inevitable that the opponent would crush him.

To ensure Erica's safety, he used the spear's haft instead of the blade to sweep at her ankle.

But she leapt aside.

Pressing the attack, as if to chase after the fleeing Erica, Godou continued to strike, this time bring the spear down above her.

This time, Erica did not leap to evade the attack.

Only moving backwards by a small margin, she dodged the strike, and then charged forward.

Simultaneously thrusting her sword like a needle she aimed for Godou's chest.

This was a counter strike!

Having suspected Erica's plan Godou deliberately chose not to dodge – but it was also because he was out of time – and swept the spear which Erica had dodged horizontally.

Only relying on the flick of his wrist, the steel spear moved like a whip, poised to strike the slender maiden.

This was a cross-counter impossible for a normal person, but for the [Bull]'s monstrous strength this was easily accomplished.

It happened in an instant.

Just before he was to be impaled by Cuore di Leone, he successfully warded off Erica.

"Geez... Your reflexes are as keen as ever— you never change, do you?" Although her counter strike failed, Erica simply laughed it off.

It seems that she didn't suffer an injury. The truth be told, the instant before the spear struck home, she also jumped backwards to avoid the attack. He had to hand it to Erica, both her attacks and her defenses were perfect.

Facing such an expert how was he to defeat her?

The answer lay in careful scrutiny.

Godou had done this for such a long time. The more distant victory was and the greater the pressure to obtain it, the faster his eyes and mind worked.

The enemy's every move, expressions, gaze.

As long as there was even a slight glimmer of hope, he would seize it. Ascertaining the opponent's character, discerning the opponent's pattern of thought; he would use both observation and analysis to confirm the other's movements.

Whether the enemy was a human, a god or a monster, as long as he grasped their psyche, he would be able to formulate a plan for victory.

From some point onwards, all of Godou's concentration was placed on attaining 'victory'.

That was no sudden change, but rather was a natural outcome of his actions.

This extended duel, in addition to his opponent being both a genius at the sword and a wielder of arcane magic, allowed Godou to completely absorb himself in combat.

Erica had no weaknesses. And even if she did, he could not see them.

But he deeply understood Erica's character, which was completely opposite to her devil-like mischievousness. She truly believed in an honorable and fair style of combat, and would never conserve her strength.

Her favorite battle tactic was the frontal charge, and using her greatest strength and her full spirit, at that.

That Erica was currently not doing this, was probably because she wanted to draw out all of Godou's strength, and so purposely toned down her attacks.

"Craftiness is written all over your face. The intelligence of a fox and the ferocity of a lion —— now that is the Godou I love! Give me all you've got, I accept your challenge!"

Hearing Erica say this, Godou momentarily flashed a grin.

Then, he smiled grimly.

Whatever he said before, he couldn't deny that dueling was very exciting. That there was an opponent willing to handle his attacks could only make him feel happy. Because of this thought, he inadvertently grinned.

Which should he choose? The forms with the greatest destructive power were either the [White Stallion] or the [Boar].

He currently was unable to call on the [White Stallion]. But he could probably use the [Boar] ——

"Thou hast violated the pact, and sinned on earth. The Lord hath spoken —— The sinner must be punished. May his spine be crushed, may his bones be broken, his tendons torn, his hair ripped from his skull— may his blood, spilled over the earth, be churned into a bloody froth. I shall become one who buries fangs into the sinner's flesh, that the will of the Lord be followed— Thou shalt be purged!"

Originally, this was an oracular verse from the sacred texts.

The verse was suddenly turned into an incantation, and flowed from Godou's mouth.

"The Boar shall ravage you! The Boar shall exterminate you!"

This was the Campione: "This is my boast of victory over the gods, the paean of my strength!"

This was the man turned into a devil: "This is my taunt at the gods, who are my foes!"

This was the victor: "This is my declaration of defiance, in order to grasp my godslaying strength!"

"O aethereal[10] Gods, ye all who hath heard this verse of mine, rage at the death of your brethren!"

"O chthonic[11] Gods, ye all who hath heard this verse of mine, wait uselessly for the day when my sacrilege returns for me!"

"O marine gods, ye all, who hath heard this verse of mine, mourn with adirge at your own helplessness!"

"I am the foe of all gods! I am the usurper of divine strength!"

Compelled by his devil-like ability, Godou unknowingly chanted these verses.

"What is the cause of this earthquake?!"

"He just uttered the name of the [Boar], thus it should be an ability of that Lord... Verethragna's fifth incarnation, a boar with wickedly sharp tusks. Legend has it, that it could crush any object with one blow ——"

The wall on which the commander [Female Wolf] and the [Purple Knight] stood began to shake.

The previous incantation of Godou's was exactly that: a hymn to summon the divine beast called 'the bearer of ruin'.

Perhaps it was because one felt as though the beast would really descend from the heavens, the sky shook while gathering storm clouds and the earth trembled while rumbling with minor earthquakes.

"To, to come to this... To use even the [Boar] when dueling with an opponent as weak as me, how heartless are you! If you mess this up, not just the hill and the Roman Colosseum, but even the Forum Roman will be completely flattened!"

Erica gave off a rare emotion; that of worry.

Seeing this atypical anxious look, Godou felt a great sense of satisfaction. "If I used conventional methods against you, I had no chance at victory. So, I decided to use the strongest attack which was available to me at this moment."

In the air above Godou and the others, a distortion of space appeared. Between the 'real' world and the 'imaginary' world – which was not meant to exist – appeared a path accessed through the cracks of both. There appeared a huge, ferocious beast, wrapped in dark black fur, fighting to escape from the distortion.

Its body was even larger than the lion Erica had summoned. Twice its size, in fact.

Its entire length was at least 20 meters.

At the moment only the nose to the neck could be seen, along with two huge, sharp tusks.

Just a few more minutes, and it would completely enter the 'real' world.

This gigantic bulk couldn't yet be fully seen, and it couldn't yet be definitively called a 'ferocious monster', but the features, especially the nose and tusks, were definitely those of a boar's.

Godou and Erica had seen the awesome strength of the monster themselves before.

Underneath the dark fur of the [Boar], was a chilling amount of muscle.

Originally, this was a manifestation of Verethragna's desire to vanquish the enemies of his patron deity, Mithras. The burly, divine beast which Godou called forth was exactly the manifestation of the [Boar].

He didn't know why, but the conditions for enabling this ability were very broad.

As long as Godou 'had a huge object as a target, and was determined to crush it', the condition was satisfied. He had never tested before exactly how large or small the object needed to be, but as long as it looked heavier than ten tons, it could be specified as a target.

And, the [Boar]'s manifestation was not only concerned with immensity of size.

"I knew Godou was anything but normal— all that talk of peace was just some platitudes... Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani![12] My God! Why hast thou forsaken me!"

Erica raised her sword to the heavens, loudly singing the sacred hymn.

He had heard this many times before, the incantation to release her most powerful magic.

"O Lord! I wail and beg through the day, yet you forsake me— I cry and pray through the night, yet you ignore me. But you remain the most holy, you that have the praise of Israel as your throne!"

The despondent incantation shook the air, and began to freeze over the whole earth.

Godou's body began to tremble faintly.

That was because the surrounding temperature was decreasing at an alarming rate.

...In the end, she still used this technique. Because Erica never restrained herself in her attacks, it was easy to predict her overall plan; actually, it was probably because she thought it didn't matter if someone saw through her plan, as long as she crushed the enemy.

Godou momentarily glanced down at the grass near his feet.

A good chance to get one last confirmation on his target.

"Though each bone of my body is shattered, my heartache melts like a lit candle. You shall bury me in the dust of dead earth! Wild dogs surround me, Evil Company hems me in!

God sits aloof in heaven, unwilling to lend aid.

To be alone is to despair, difficulty gives rise to curses."

This incantation, filled with negative emotions, suffused the earth, and Erica, being the current spellcaster, was focusing all that negative energy.

The temperature continued to plummet, and was now at the point where even bones started to ache from the cold.

"O Lord my Savior, I beseech you— aid me! Snatch me away from the weapons of the enemy, snatch me from the jaws of the lion, snatch me from the horns of the bull!"

The instant before the Messiah's death, this was both a funeral dirge and a paean of exaltation which he sang, despairingly and longingly.

Simply hearing the words themselves, the average human would be blinded; the physically weak would even collapse. If the spellcaster wanted to, this incantation could even kill off everyone then present.

Godou threw aside his spear, and suddenly bent down. He grabbed the pebble which he checked was there, lying in the grass just a moment ago, and immediately flung it outwards. This was an action he had performed countless times in basketball courts.

What he aimed at was Erica's chest.

Godou was supremely confident in his arm strength and accuracy; from this distance, there was no way he could miss.

Although this was merely a pebble, one should not underestimate it. Since antiquity, a thrown stone was the simplest and cheapest weapon, yet possessed sufficient deadliness to kill a man. Even the Christians have it, the weapon which David used to kill Goliath was the stone.[13]

——But Erica shot it down with Cuore di Leone.

"My God! Why hast thou forsaken me!"

The overwhelming strength of this incantation required the full concentration of the spell caster. This was a minor error in judgment that made the difference in a life or death situation. For Godou, his chance for victory rested in this very moment.

Erica did not consider Godou's master plan, so she casually used her blade.

Godou didn't summon the [Boar] in order to crush Erica.

That was only a feint —— encouraging her to momentarily relax her pinpoint accuracy.

Seeing the instant when the sword moved, Godou began his attack.

When manifesting the [Boar], Godou himself gained a boar-like charging ability.

...But it was just a mad dash in a straight line. If he used this in rugby or a sprint it might not matter, but in a duel facing a sword wielding foe, it really didn't appeal to him.

However, if an opponent's stance fumbles, it was possible to seize the gap in his defence to batter him down.

If his opponent was a regular swordsman, his plan of a sudden attack would probably have the opponent easily defeated.

The problem was that this enemy was a monster far beyond the common man.

Erica instantly corrected her weak posture. One could say this was her scariest aspect; she had an extraordinary sense of balance.

Cuore di Leone flashed, and cut downwards at Godou, back bent to pierce Erica.

'Thank goodness the [Boar]'s speed was just that much faster.'

Only the end of the blade, near the hilt, scored Godou's arm.

The cut was very light, and was probably only skin deep.

Even if one was an expert, there was no way to use that part of the weapon to kill someone. If Godou's attack had been any slower, the sharpness of the blade and the speed of his charge might have split him in two...

Meanwhile, Godou heaved a sigh of relief, while grabbing onto Erica and pinning her to the ground.

"——!?"

Even if it was Erica, there was no way to face the [Boar]'s charging speed.

Godou had her completely pinned, sitting on top of her body.

Of course, he immediately restrained the hand which held Cuore di Leone.



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