Chapter 7 - Battle in the Ancient Past
Part 1
The dragons were swimming swiftly on the surface of the Rhine, illuminated bright red by the evening glow.
They were the three dragons that Uldin had brought with him. As for Uldin himself, he was sitting quietly beneath a large tree by the river side.
He was also gnawing on dried meat and drinking water from a leather pouch.
However, rather than Uldin needing a break, it would be more accurate to say that the dragons were resting. After all, these divine beasts and so-called "dragons" were apparently spirits of the water and the land. True to this nature of theirs, they desired water greatly on occasion.
Furthermore, they would become more energetic after absorbing life force and magical power from the water.
Furthermore, Uldin was the godslayer possessing the [Dragon Taming] authority, thus allowing him to keep herds of dragons and make them do his bidding. Currently, he had nine dragons prepared at his stronghold.
And out of those nine, only three of them were right here.
But that was just as well.
The more dragons he commanded at the same time, the more magical power they consumed. That would then prevent him from using other authorities.
In battles against gods and godslayers, enemy tactics cannot be predicted.
Hence, in order to have various authorities available at his disposal for flexible usage, having three or four dragons was the optimum number.
"It's almost about time..."
The bright red and setting sun was sinking below the western horizon.
Night would fall soon after. The dragons were also reenergized.
It was finally time to take the Holy Maiden — the godslayer beauty who stood as his peer — for himself.
Despite her graceful and beautiful appearance, looking as vulnerable as though she might break from the wind, she was quite a magnificent
"bronco." This was precisely the type of woman Uldin preferred. If she relented, he would definitely marry her as his fifth wife.
(As a side note, Ruska was the first wife while Clotilde was the fourth. The second and third wives were currently stationed in Uldin's "secondary residences" in Germania and Sarmatia respectively.)
Uldin stood up and yelled to the dragons that were frolicking in the water.
"Time to get going. Next comes marriage time!"
Godou and his two companions were traveling west on the Rhine in their boat.
This happened to be towards the setting sun. Finally arriving at the town of
Augusta Raurica, the scenery of the stronghold could be seen in the distance not too far away.
The journey down the river finally ended peacefully.
However, Godou, Erica and Ena were all silent, maintaining their gazes straight ahead.
The trio were sitting side by side yet no one spoke. The atmosphere was quite awkward. Due to the vivid memories of what the trio was doing earlier, none of them could speak.
But finally, Erica spoke up in a murmur.
"Although I have already experienced cases in the past when you acted in an unstoppable manner like this, Godou, you are truly extraordinary in these situations."
"Uh yeah. Indeed you're right..."
Godou nodded powerlessly.
Whether using Verethragna's sixth incarnation, the [Youth], or under the influence of Lancelot's [Insane Rush], there had been several similar incidents in the past.
"But this time, Godou, you did it entirely by your own volition. Still, I responded as I've always done in the past... Unknowingly, I've grown accustomed to this sort of thing..."
"Yes yes. Ena has also unknowingly accepted it, or rather, participated..."
Erica spoke as if completely exhausted while Ena commented with a hesitant expression.
"How should we tell Yuri and Liliana-san about what happened..."
"Of course we keep it a secret. If they were to find out the embarrassing way we acted... I don't even want to imagine the look on Lily's face at all.
Likewise with Yuri... Indeed, we cannot tell them."
"Yeah. However, umm... Doing that together, it's quite happy, right?"
Ena murmured softly to herself. Her face completely shy, she lowered her gaze.
Anger immediately erupted on Erica's face. Sternly, she glared at the
Hime-Miko.
"Ena-san, making absolutely unladylike statements like this is your shortcoming!"
"S-Sorry, Erica-san. You really hate this huh..."
Erica did not answer, but instead, she pinched Godou's back. Furthermore, she pinched especially hard. As Godou cried out "Ouch!" from the unexpected pain, the Diavolo Rosso declared angrily:
"Why don't you just endure this willingly? This is your comeuppance for sweeping us into something weird. Then hurry and apologize to me. Kiss me gently on the cheek as an apology for what you did just now."
"An apology is fine, but kissing is a bit..."
"Seriously! You already went that far just now, yet you're completely useless during times like this!"
Angrily, Erica pinched Godou's back even harder.
But as Godou leaned back due to the pain, the blonde beauty gently leaned herself against him. Stretching forward a little, she brought her lips close to Godou's ear and whispered softly.
"l-ln order not to upset my composure too much in those circumstances, at least give me a warning beforehand. Th-That was really dangerous just now, but at least I managed to salvage the situation in front of Ena-san..."
Then she even bit Godou lightly on his earlobe.
Suddenly suffering her counterattack, Godou felt his heart begin to pound hard. Through the pain just now, he understood what Erica was feeling.
Compared to anger, she was feeling far more embarrassed.
The girl with the devil moniker bowed her head, her face blushing bright red.
Seeing her acting so adorably, Godou was overcome with the desire to hug her when he found himself embraced by someone else. Ena had pounced on him, her face in a pout.
"Your Majesty! E-Even Ena should be able to., d-do it properly next time.
Don't just look at Erica. I don't want that!"
Although her words sounded like a child's, Ena also pressed her body tightly against Godou.
This was an act that seemed to be desperately asserting her existence, probably undertaken without conscious intent. However, the one doing it was Ena with her amazing body instead of a mere child.
Naturally, her bountiful bosom was pressed tightly against Godou and he could smell the fragrance from her hair from a close distance.
Seeing Godou fall silent, Erica went "What am I going to do with you,
Ena-san?" as a noblewoman's gentle smile appeared on her face.
Noticing Erica's reaction, Ena smiled wryly and relaxed the strength in her embrace. Suddenly, the trio was startled.
The mood had turned unusual again...
"W- We've almost reached the stronghold, let's get ready to disembark!"
"A-Ah yeah. Uldin doesn't seem to be here yet."
"He said he was returning when night falls. H-He should be keeping his promise, right!?"
Frantically, the trio separated from one another, feigning calmness as they changed the topic.
The setting sun dyed the world a vivid shade of red. It evoked sanguine imagery of the upcoming bloodshed. A rather inauspicious scene.
Furthermore, Godou suddenly felt a sense of chill.
Daytime during spring was supposed to be quite warm.
Was it getting cold because night fell? Godou felt a chill that felt like it was from a night in autumn.
Mooring the boat behind the stronghold and disembarking, the trio instantly rushed to the backdoor.
The guards led them inside as soon as they recognized Godou and his companions. Uldin should be attacking soon, so it was imperative to confer with Madame Aisha as quickly as possible —
Spurred by these anxious feelings, Godou's group entered the stronghold.
To be honest, they originally expected the soldiers' morale to have reached rock bottom. For example, due to the imminent attack of Devil King Uldin, the soldiers should be hyperventilating from fear or the like. Perhaps there would even be plenty of deserters.
However, they felt a sense of dissonance after getting off the boat.
Noisy sounds and strange yells were coming from the stronghold incessantly.
"What high spirits..."
"She must have used the charisma authority."
Ena and Erica both showed surprise on their faces. This was only logical.
In various places inside the stronghold, the soldiers were yelling loudly.
'We must protect the Holy Maiden!' 'WOOOOOOOOOH!' 'You guys, that's not loud enough!' 'WOOOOOOOOOH!' 'Uldin is not scary at all! There is nothing to fear but our fear itself towards that guy!' 'WOOOOOOOOOH!'
'Our Holy Maiden! Our Holy Maiden!' 'WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!'
Angry roars, screams, shouts and yells intersected.
Roughly six hundred soldiers were yelling their hardest with all the passion they could muster.
Bathed completely in their zealous gazes was Madame Aisha. Standing by the lectern where the commander usually gave speeches from, she was waving her hand with a look of embarrassment.
"This reminds me of the time when my friend Miura invited me to a concert.
A female idol..."
Godou muttered. On one hand, here was an army of males, willing to lay down their lives in battle. On the other hand, those were boys and middle-aged men willing to offer their youthfulness and lives to their idol's concert.
Clearly, their natures were diametrically opposed yet for some reason, they had similarities no matter how you looked at it.
As a side note, the commander and officers were mixed in among the soldiers, yelling with all their might. They were already submerged within the crowd. All the people had bloodshot eyes and were in a state of frenzy.
Leading Erica and Ena, Godou approached Madame Aisha's lectern.
"Aisha-san! What happened!?"
"S-Sorry, it looks like I used the charisma authority too much! B-Because everyone in the army were afraid of Uldin-san and the flying dragons, so I had to use it often on them — "
"Even in controlled amounts, accumulation over time would still create a group of fanatics huh..."
"I guess an overly convenient power always has its drawbacks..."
Godou and the Madame had to converse as loudly as the soldiers' enraged yelling.
At the same time, Erica and Ena seemed to be nodding to each other with heartfelt revelations.
"Because everyone has gathered together for the sake of my protection... I can't escape discreetly. Even if I said I would leave this place, they said absolutely no and kept me here..."
Descending from the lectern, Madame Aisha explained with a look of depression.
"By the way... Kusanagi-san, how did you survive? I thought Uldin-san would have killed you for sure."
"Please don't write me off as dead so casually. At least I managed to escape."
"S-Sorry. Because if you were already dead, Kusanagi-san, I would have no choice but to inherit your will and muster my resolve..."
Her face full of shyness, the Madame raised her fist to demonstrate her
"resolve."
"In fact, I am currently reversing my healing authority for the sake of battle."
"Reversing... What does that mean?"
"My healing ability comes from Persephone, the goddess of spring who brings the cycle of life. In fact, she not only controls spring but is also the queen of the underworld who rules over death and winter. Using roughly one day's worth of time as preparation, my authority can be reversed to freeze all existence via [Winter's Might]."
"Unbelievable—!"
"But if I accidentally overuse it, the cold of winter lingers temporarily. So please take care."
"Exactly how long is 'temporarily'?"
"Half a year to a year maybe... Depending on conditions, it could last even longer. Even sunlight becomes very poor."
"I have a feeling that you will surely end up doing it 'accidentally,'
Aisha-san, so please stop the reversal."
Even in the modern age, cool summers and harsh winters could cause massive effects on the volume of harvests, let alone in the ancient world.
This could very well develop into widespread famine.
Realizing deeply that this affected many people, Godou was struck strongly by such a thought:
Why does this person possess nothing but all these troublemaking authorities...?
"Let me go fight Uldin. That's the reason I came back."
"In other words, you're going to fight for my protection!?"
"Formally, I guess you could say that..."
Avoiding Madame Aisha's grateful gaze of thanks, Godou turned to look at the Hime-Miko.
At some point in time, she had started gazing intently at the distant sky.
The sun had already set and the sky had just darkened.
"They're here. Three dragons as expected. Uldin-san is also riding one of them."
"Got it. So, I'll be back in a bit, okay?"
Ena laughed at last while Erica responded with a lioness' smile.
Indeed, they were such reliable companions. Godou nodded hard towards them and ran up the castle walls. Although the outward side of the walls was vertical, the inner side was sloped gently with steps.
Climbing to the top of the castle walls, Godou waited for the dragons' arrival.
As expected a few minutes later, he heard Uldin's voice again after half a day, coming from the sky above.
"Yo comrade! I didn't expect to find you here!"
Thus the curtain finally rose for the duel between the modern and the ancient godslayers.
Part 2
"Because it's a long story, I'll just be brief. I came here by Ruska-san and
Clotilde-san's request. My purpose: to beat you up."
"What, it's those two!?"
Godou was standing on the pathway atop the city walls, roughly five meters from ground level.
From his vantage point, the streets of Augusta Raurica as well as neighboring forests and roads could all be seen clearly. Overhead was the starry sky of ancient Europe, as well as three pterosaurs —
Uldin ordered his dragon mount to descend and deliberately came to the air above Godou's location.
"For things to leak out so quickly, it must be Ruska's doing huh."
Apparently realizing the situation, the Hunnic godslayer muttered with deep feeling to himself.
Similar incidents must surely have happened dozens of times already.
However, Uldin immediately recovered his cheer and smiled with delight.
"Oh well, I'll just have to please them a bit later. So, are you going to say you'll kill me too, comrade? I really hope that you'll not interfere in consideration of our solidarity as fellow godslayers."
"If it were possible, I don't want to do this either. But that's out of the question."
Godou asserted openly.
"If you continue to do as you please, the people in the town will suffer. And
Aisha-san might even say she will bring herself to fight. So let me stop you here."
"Aisha... Is that the name of the Holy Maiden? This is my first encounter with a female godslayer."
Uldin was quite happy. He had also entered a state of battle readiness.
Filled with fighting spirit, Uldin was gazing down at Godou below him with cautious eyes.
"It'd be a bit presumptuous if I said I'm fine with two against one, but I don't mind bearing a little hardship for a woman's sake, yeah?"
"She has her own situation to deal with. So I asked her to take a break."
Madame Aisha was currently stuck in an organization that was devoted to sacrificing their lives for her.
Godou did not want to see them throw their lives at Uldin and perish. In order to prevent the beautiful Campione from entering the fray, Godou would face Uldin one on one.
"Bold words, comrade! In that case, let us decide the victor!"
Uldin made his dragon mount ascend rapidly and converged with its two companions in the air.
With the Hunnic dragon rider leading the charge, the two other pterosaurs followed on his left and right as his wingmen, resulting in a triangular " A " formation. It was almost like a team of fighter jets.
Uldin's first attack was an arrow.
"O Rudra's thunder! The hammer that descends from the heavens!"
From the saddle of his dragon mount, Uldin picked up arrows and a small-sized bow, firing them with extreme speed and divine skill. The arrow sliced through the air as it flew straight at Godou's forehead.
Standing on the pathway above the castle walls, Godou instantly jumped sideways and barely managed to dodge the attack.
Falling into the interior of the stronghold, the arrow turned into lightning and struck one of the living quarters of the soldiers.
C R AAAAAAAAAAAA S H !
A thunderous rumbling accompanied the descending lightning.
The lightning from Uldin's arrow exploded with electrical light and shock the instant it struck the soldiers' quarters, easily demolishing the single-storied building.
"O fire of Rudra, incinerate this land to ashes!"
Next, Uldin shot an arrow towards the sky.
Despite the small size of the bows normally used by nomadic tribes, they had considerable range. Not only limited to wood, even animal shin bones and other materials would be used for arrows. The bowstrings also had immense tension.
Impelled by the bow, the arrow flew high into the sky, turning into several hundred fireballs.
These fireballs kept raining down upon the land, a sight akin to a night sky lit up by fireworks. Were all these fireballs to land on target, the stronghold would undoubtedly turn into a sea of fire.
In order to oppose the vicious flames, Godou drew out his weapon.
Verethragna's final incarnation, the [Warrior], was the swordsman wielding the golden sword.
"Rudra was a god of ancient India... Furthermore, he is the bow-wielding god of storms."
The spell words of the sword for severing divinities and divine powers —
With Godou's chanting of spell words, the golden spheres of light danced haphazardly in the air.
Like radiant starlight from a galaxy, the lights covered the vast stronghold like a canopy, destroying all the hundreds of fireballs that landed on them.
"Rudra can be said to be one of the many forms of Shiva, the god of destruction. The name Shiva carries the meaning of the 'Quiet One.' In contrast, Rudra can be translated as the 'Roarer.' Consequently, one can conclude that these two gods are complementary sides of a single existence!"
"Lights that destroyed Rudra's arrows — They're spell words!?"
Overlooking the [Sword]'s canopy and Godou who had uttered spell words from the castle walls, Uldin expressed surprise from his position in the air.
However, he did not stop attacking.
Nocking arrows to the bow, he fired three arrows. This time, these were arrows of raging wind and rain.
Massive raindrops were mixed with the tempestuous wind, striking the canopy violently as they followed the arrows. Then they were destroyed.
"Oh... Rather than blocking my arrows, it is eliminating them instead huh."
Uldin muttered, fully impressed. Then he smiled with delight.
"Mere mutterings are enough to produce incantations for countering Rudra huh. If that's the case, let's see if you can counter other authorities...
Here's a test. Flying dragons, attack!"
KUUUAAAAAAAAH! KUUUAAAAAAAAH!
The two pterosaurs dove rapidly towards Godou who was standing alone on the pathway over the castle walls. At the same time, they swung the
"terrible claws" equipped on their hind legs.
Uldin's pterosaurs measured roughly seven meters in body length.
Despite their large bodies, they would only be considered small sized among divine beasts. This body size allowed for exceptional speed and agility. The two pterosaurs approached swiftly, almost like arrows.
Obviously, the [Sword] could not defend against them.
Naturally, the ones who stepped up to the task at this moment were Erica and Ena. Swiftly, they ran up to the castle walls and brandished their weapons.
"And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them! Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city — H ^
While chanting the smiting spell words, Erica used her oval shield to block the claws of one of the pterosaurs.
Then returning Cuore di Leone to its original form, she made a thrust with the longsword and did not forget to make another stab at the pterosaur's hind leg for good measure. Although it was not enough to cause the enemy a severe injury, it counted as a counterattacking blow anyway.
Clad in her rossonero cape of red and black, Erica was enveloped in the sacred privilege of extermination.
"O Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi. Grant me your power to vanquish the barbarians!"
On the other hand, Ena was the one who blocked the second flying pterosaur.
Holding the jet-black divine sword, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, she used divine possession to fill herself with the divine sword's aura and ran in front of Godou.
Just as she was about to make an overhead strike using the f2i 3 hassou-no-kamae stance 1 J — the second pterosaur avoided Ena.
Making a turn in the trajectory of its rapid descent, the pterosaur evaded
Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi's blade.
The second pterosaur thus returned to the sky beside Uldin. The first one also returned to its master's side without striking back at Erica.
"Unlike usual, they're not attacking mindlessly. This is difficult."
"These pterosaurs are probably controlled by Uldin's will directly. Think of them as his avatars or remote controlled weapons."
The two girls stood in formation on Godou's left and right respectively as they whispered to each other.
Uldin's authority for controlling the pterosaurs was usurped from
Usumgallu the dragon god. An ancient Sumerian sacred beast, it was a divinity whose folklore was no longer circulated in the modern age. That was what Godou had learnt from Erica and Ena.
However, he was not going to turn this knowledge into the [Sword].
Given one of Uldin's authorities had to be sealed, Godou decided that
[Rudra's Arrows] was still the choice to take.
"How are the people in the army?"
"The Madame has given them orders, telling them to 'protect themselves and retreat from the castle.' In any case, it means they are evacuating along with their loved ones."
Hearing Erica's report, Godou glanced behind him.
The six-hundred-man army was moving in an organized manner. Various squads were passing through the castle gates and exiting the stronghold in sequence.
"Since Aisha-san can heal injuries, we're leaving that side to her. Your
Majesty, you should focus on the battle against Uldin-san!"
Godou nodded at Ena's advice and turned his attention to the air once more.
The three pterosaurs reformed their triangular formation and glided casually through the air. Furthermore, the night sky had filled with dark clouds without prior warning. These clouds must have been summoned by
Uldin's authority.
As the god of the bow, Rudra possessed divine aspects as the storm god who summoned wind and rain —
But to Godou, another aspect was the hardest to handle.
Finally, that was precisely the aspect Uldin was using. Amidst the dark clouds that were spreading across the sky, the sun's dazzling radiance could undoubtedly be seen. However, this was obviously not the true sun.
Rather than the true sun, this was a mini pseudo-sun.
Nevertheless, its temperature and flames were extraordinary.
"I don't have a taste for sluggish containment tactics."
Uldin's voice descended from the pseudo-sun that illuminated the night sky.
"Since they're not working anyway, I'll simply shoot all my arrows at once to my heart's content. In addition — this attack style seems to trouble you, comrade?"
"Adapting flexibly to the situation to make the next move instantly..."
"He's quite similar to His Majesty in this regard..."
As Erica and Ena watched in surprise, Godou was also rendered speechless.
Clearly, Uldin was flying far above, high in the sky, yet he seemed to be able to discern Godou's expression and situation as though he were engaged in close range combat. Perhaps this was part of the resourcefulness he possessed as a "leader."
Pulling back a certain distance, discerning the thoughts of the enemy leader, attacking when the enemy showed an opening, thereby defeating the enemy.
Someone capable of performing that was truly worthy of first-class renown as an illustrious commander or strategist.
"Pray, people. Such that you may escape Rudra's arrows."
Then two arrows appeared in Uldin's right hand. Both had arrowheads made of gold. This was the golden arrow that had engaged Godou's [White
Stallion] in mutual annihilation several days earlier.
At the time, Uldin had used one arrow. This time, he was using double.
"The difference in firepower is really too great huh..."
After all, the [White Stallion] was only one out of the ten incarnations. It probably could not oppose Rudra's arrows with the full firepower of an entire authority poured into them.
Since this was foreseen beforehand, Godou was not scared. Instead, he focused his concentration. The mutual attack coming up was critical. No matter what, he must smash his way through — !
"Rudra's name carries the meaning of the "Roarer." However, that's not all there is to it. There are additional meanings of the 'Ruddy One' or the
'Shining One.' Furthermore, Rudra appears in the myths as a man with red skin, his body adorned with shining gold!"
"I pray to the god from yonder distant lands who shoots to kill, please grant your mercy. By this arrow, all life shall be extinguished!"
Chanting spell words at the same time, both sides poured magical power into their respective weapons.
"The sacred scripture of the Rigveda describes Rudra in thus manner:
'Radiant as the sun, lustrous as gold.' Hence, he also carries the traits of a sun god as one whose authority rules over fire and light!"
"Fathers, mothers, old people and babies. All shall kneel at the feet of the god of slaughter!"
"Opposing the flames of Verethragna's incarnation — the [White Stallion], that was indeed the attack shot by Rudra the sun god."
Unleashed all at once!
Uldin first nocked the two golden arrows on his bow and shot them out at the same time.
Rather than Godou, they were aimed at the pseudo-sun that offered vague glimpses behind the clouds.
The pseudo-sun absorbed the golden arrows and instantly increased in brightness. Furthermore, this triggered its descent.
The pseudo-sun moved towards the ground — the stronghold where Godou and his companions were located.
This was a sphere whose diameter was roughly forty or fifty meters wide.
Were it to crash violently into the ground, the flames would immediately spread far and wide, incinerating the entire surroundings to nothing in an instant.
Blocking this attack in midair was the group of [Swords] controlled by
Godou.
Countless small [Swords] were gathered together. Shining radiantly like a galaxy, the brightness spread out far and wide, forming a net of light to block the pseudo-sun's descent.
As Rudra's divine power was sliced apart, the pseudo-sun's light and flames instantly weakened.
However, the pseudo-sun was infused with the full firepower of [Rudra's
Arrows]. There was not enough time to annihilate all of the flames.
The net of light gradually became unable to support the falling pseudo-sun.
The pseudo-sun kept descending towards the stronghold — It was right overhead of Godou, Erica and Ena.
Its distance from the ground was 100m, 90m, 80m, 70m...
"Godou—!" "Your Majesty!?"
"That guy... Uldin will surely interfere... I'm leaving that to you girls!"
Despite Erica and Ena's calls, Godou could only give such a response.
He needed to focus all of his magical power and concentration on controlling his authority.
But as expected of the two girls, they understood Godou's intent from a single order and diverted their attention from the pseudo-sun towards their surroundings.
In the current predicament, golden light was pouring down accompanied by a large amount of flames that were about to fall upon them.
If Godou were to fail, even the girls would be involved in the consequences. Himself aside, if Erica and Ena were to be burnt to charcoal — This was a scene Godou absolutely did not want to witness.
"For victory, hasten forth before me... 0 immortal sun, I beseech thee to grant radiance to the stallion!"
Godou chanted spell words, in order to use two of Verethragna's incarnations simultaneously.
He was struck with a splitting headache for this was the price paid for excessive power.
"O stallion that moveth godlike with wondrous grace, bring forth the halo of thy master!"
While sustaining the [Sword]'s spell words, Godou summoned the [White
Stallion] from the eastern sky.
The rays of dawn added a rosy layer of color to the night sky that was illuminated golden by the pseudo-sun. The sight was quite similar to the aurora borealis visible near arctic regions.
Since the [Sword] alone was unable to dispel the pseudo-sun's flames,
Godou decided to borrow the [White Stallion]'s power as well —
As the trump cards of Kusanagi Godou and Uldin clashed together, the end result was the annihilation of all light.
Whether flames, the sun, the spell words' light or dawn's radiance, all disappeared.
The surroundings were shrouded in the darkness and silence of night again.
Until just now, there had been an exceptionally intense source of light overhead.
The sudden darkness made it difficult to adjust instantly. This was quite a rare experience for a Campione who possessed keen night vision like wild beasts. Plunged into darkness, Godou shuddered.
If an attack came right now — That would be terrible. Just as Godou was about to warn his companions...
"Shrouded by clouds, the little island's deity cowered... Closure of eyes, closure of the heart — Ama no Murakumo, please. Become Ena's eyes!"
The Hime-Miko of the Sword chanted spell words and prayed to her partner of steel.
In the next instant, Godou felt magical power erupting from Ama no
Murakumo no Tsurugi.
Although the jet-black divine blade was a [Sword], it also possessed its own will and senses as a divinity. Being a sword, it did not possess normal vision but instead perceived its surroundings through divine supernatural senses.
In other words, night or day was irrelevant —
Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi was now expanding its sensing network to search for approaching enemies.
"Yaaaaaaaah!"
Ena suddenly swung the divine sword and sliced through the darkness.
Clang! The sound of two hard objects colliding was heard. Ama no
Murakumo no Tsurugi had intercepted the "terrible claw" flying in the darkness.
Imperceptibly, a pterosaur had silently approached.
"Uwaaaah!"
The claw and the divine sword were almost equally matched in power and hardness. Ena was sent flying along with Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi and rolled down the inner slope of the castle walls. Stumbling, the pterosaur flew back high into the sky.
Just as Godou's eyes finally adjusted to the darkness and watched the scene just now —
"Godou, duck down!"
Erica warned him. He looked up into the sky.
The second pterosaur was making a rapid descent. Furthermore, its size was massive.
Earlier, its body length was still roughly seven meters, but now it had doubled in size. Uldin must have infused his magical power to strengthen it!
"Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city
Jericho!" [3]
Enveloping herself in red light, Erica also flew up.
Sacred exterminators were capable of flight for short durations.
She collided directly with the enlarged pterosaur in the air. The pterosaur spread out its "terrible claws" and tried to catch Erica. This was a hunting method similar to that used by birds of prey.
Using the red light's protection, Erica defended against the attack. At the same time, she stabbed the lion's magic sword into the enemy's black skin.
"He shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it!"^
Seizing this opportunity, Erica infused the magic sword with the sacred privilege of extermination.
Then someone's whistling was heard at this moment. Instantly, the enlarged pterosaur effortlessly tossed Erica aside and flew high up into the air.
The two pterosaurs were implementing hit-and-run tactics.
Hence, Erica and Ena's attacks were hindered and unable to deal heavy blows to the divine beasts. In addition, the third pterosaur, carrying Uldin, finally arrived.
Spurring the pterosaur in a rapid descent towards the ground, he simultaneously shot arrows at Godou who was on the castle walls.
With astounding skills of consecutive shots, he fired seven arrows and immediately ordered his dragon mount to ascend swiftly.
Godou instantly jumped to the side, diving into a roll and barely evading the attacks. Nevertheless, he could not escape completely unscathed. An arrow struck his left shoulder.
"Hahahaha! I was thinking of shooting you dead under the cover of darkness, but it looks like it won't be that easy!"
Leaving behind his laughter, Uldin returned to the air.
Immediately after the magnificent strike with the pseudo-sun, Uldin switched flexibly to a surprise assault and using the pterosaurs for hit-and-run tactics. This was quite a large change in the fight.
"Indeed, so long as those flying divine beasts remain, their threat will only increase..."
"A flying divine beast also gave us a tough time during New Year's Eve and January..."
Erica and Ena returned to Godou's side.
Cursing those flying dragons with great hatred in his mind, Godou pulled out the arrow from his shoulder. Since it was embedded in his flesh, it hurt quite a lot of course. It also bled. However, the wound was not very serious.
The iron arrowhead was incapable of penetrating a Campione's shoulder blade that was harder than steel.
"In that case, we can still continue to fight..."
Speaking of ways to handle flying enemies, Godou had already learnt the method.
That had occurred during his battles at Cape Inubou as well as the South
Seas practically at the equator —
Part 3
"The one unblunted and unapproachable! Oath-breaking sinners be purged by the iron hammer of justice!"
In response to Godou's spell words, the [Boar] manifested from within the stronghold.
The twenty-meter-long black divine beast. Its brawny and massive body trampled and crushed a row of soldiers' quarters, demolishing buildings as it advanced.
It made its way towards the castle walls, behind where Godou's group was standing —
Godou had set the three pterosaurs as the targets for destruction.
Currently, the pterosaurs remained circling high in the air above, preparing to make the next strike.
"Listen carefully... I'll let you rampage as much as you want later."
The [Boar] curled itself up behind Godou, its ferocious fighting spirit about to explode.
Godou suppressed the [Boar] as he softly scolded it.
"You're not allowed to move yet... For now, you will act as a substitute castle and stronghold!"
ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAR!
The [Boar] cried out with what appeared to be displeasure. However, it was not trying to resist. Although it was not the black divine beast's original intention, it still planned to respond to its master's orders.
The instant Godou nodded, one of the pterosaurs made a rapid descent.
This was the giant pterosaur that had doubled in size, the one that Erica had blocked just now. Uldin was not riding it.
"Do it!"
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR!
As Godou shouted, the [Boar] roared again. As usual, its howls were mixed with Shockwaves. The rapidly descending pterosaur was blown back.
Although the giant pterosaur lost balance as a result, it barely managed to recover.
Temporarily stopping its attack towards the ground, it returned to Uldin's side.
"Ohoh, comrade, so you tame wild beasts too? What a coincidence! Let's go!"
Riding on a dragon's back, Uldin gazed upon the [Boar] with admiration and gave orders.
The second pterosaur immediately descended. However, it too was easily blown away. Naturally, this was also the result of the [Boar]'s roars from the ground.
ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR!
Like the hand of an invisible giant, the Shockwaves blew the second pterosaur away.
Let alone attack, it could not even approach the castle walls. With that, the second pterosaur crashed towards the ground. Probably because of its smaller body size compared to the first pterosaur, it could not withstand the hit.
— Rather than allowing the [Boar] to charge, Godou had chosen to use its
Shockwaves as the stronghold's artillery.
This was the tactic the [Boar] had used not too long ago in the battles against Circe the goddess of dawn. Godou was now imitating the same method.
"What strange skills this thing possesses. In that case, how about this!?"
Uldin called out and threw down two leather bags from his saddle.
Their contents were poured out and scattered throughout the air.
It was a great quantity of white teeth. Probably numbering a hundred roughly.
Godou remembered. Back during his first encounter with Uldin outside
Augusta Raurica, that guy had turned these teeth into magical beasts — !
"Ruska mentioned it! Uldin's [Dragon Taming] authority allows him to turn the teeth and claws fallen from dragons into his minions!"
"So it really was that guy's authority!"
Informed by Erica, Godou clicked his tongue.
The many teeth transformed in the air. They turned into small-sized
Deinonychuses roughly four meters in length. Furthermore, instead of front limbs they had wings sprouting from their shoulders.
In other words, this was an army of almost a hundred mini-pterosaurs!
The mini-pterosaurs kept flying towards Godou's group on the castle walls.
Swarming from all directions, all three hundred and sixty degrees, they approached. The [Boar]'s mission was to intercept them.
ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAR! ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAR!
ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAR! ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAR!
The black divine beast kept emitting cries with Shockwaves, striking down wave after wave of the mini-pterosaurs as though it were a workflow.
Even so, due to the great numbers, there were naturally those that slipped through.
However, the mini-pterosaurs that escaped the Shockwaves still aimed for
Godou as their target. Hence, Erica and Ena were able to attack with impunity, piercing them with the magic sword and slaying them with the divine sword. Had there been any remnants of the Roman army lingering in the stronghold, the beasts might have produced turmoil amongst them.
However, the soldiers all seemed to have retreated already.
Very quickly, the army of mini-pterosaurs was essentially all wiped out.
Seeing this, Uldin made his pterosaur descend to roughly twenty meters away from the castle walls where Godou's group was standing.
"How amazing, comrade. Of course, I already had great confidence in your capability... But to be honest, I never expected I'd be pushed to this degree."
As the pterosaur landed, its "wings" disappeared.
The wings on its left and right transformed back into the short front limbs.
From what Godou had observed so far, these front limbs had no use apart from the ability to grab things.
With that, the pterosaur basically transformed into a Deinonychus.
"I want you as my proxy more and more. Let's make a promise. I will conquer this castle next. If you're still alive by that point — You will surrender and serve under my military command."
Uldin smiled joyfully from astride the back of the Deinonychus.
In a reversal of positions from earlier, Godou was now staring down from the castle walls at the smiling Uldin. Serving the important role as a
'fortress,' the [Boar] was waiting quietly behind him.
The black divine beast's brawny and giant body trembled, moaning
"uuuu..." quietly.
Its eyes were bloodshot. The suppressed fighting spirit was apparently reaching a limit.
"But unfortunately, I'm not confident that I can defeat you with your life intact. So perhaps, my offer is akin to a delusional dream. Let me state beforehand, don't hate me if you get killed, okay?"
"As usual, you're still saying whatever you want on your own..."
Godou made a wry expression in response to Uldin's words.
Despite the man's declaration of absolute certainty in victory, Godou still found him quite likable. Despite him being a barbarian in the ancient world,
Godou still felt a sense of intellectuality.
This was definitely some sort of charisma. However, precisely because of that—
"You're the one who should agree to my promise. If I win, stop asking me about this!"
"Sure, so the wager's on now."
How could I possibly let you have victory? Godou yelled in such a manner.
Uldin responded similarly.
Then the Hunnic godslayer began to chant new spell words.
"O mother, creator of all life and existence."
The battlefield was strewn with piles of the mini-pterosaurs' remains.
Massive bodies moved amidst all this. Those were the two pterosaurs brought by Uldin. Witnessing the two divine beasts flying over their master's head, Godou nodded.
These two pterosaurs had not been defeated. They had only taken a brief break to gather their energy!
"Now I once again grant sharp teeth to these dragons, conferring merciless poison!"
The two pterosaurs' bodies overlapped and merged together.
Two into one. The two pterosaurs combined into a single body to become a "giant dragon" and proceeded to enlarge further.
The outstretched wings were exceptionally wide. The wingspan probably measured forty meters or so.
Judging purely from the head and body, it was roughly the [Boar]'s size.
Apart from the long neck like a plesiosaur's and the tail of a scorpion's, the rest of the body was the same as before.
Growing on the head were seven horns that gave off an aura of solemnity like a crown.
"In order to take out this giant thing, I guess I have to go this far."
Extraordinary magical power was coursing through Uldin's body.
It was flowing towards the giant dragon with its wings outstretched above him. Receiving the master's power, the giant dragon transformed into an even more ferocious state. Its outer skin changed into dragon scales of bright red.
With the giant red dragon's appearance, the massive black boar cried out loudly.
ROOOOOAAAAAAR!
Due to the Shockwaves carried by the roar, not only the air but also the castle and the ground began to shake. Was the [Boar]'s suppression reaching a limit — ?
Godou motioned to his companions with his eyes. Erica and Ena nodded lightly in response.
They both understood it was time for victory to be decided.
"The one unblunted and unapproachable, oath-breaking sinners be purged by the iron hammer of justice!"
"O dragon! Clad in a crown of fire and fear, turn into a god!"
In the next instant, Godou and Uldin both yelled out spell words.
Then the giant red dragon spread its vast wings and flew above the stronghold, widening its jaws that were lined with rows of vicious teeth and breathing out fierce flames. In response, the giant black boar roared back as usual.
ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR!
In the instant the Shockwaves, mixed amidst the roaring, neutralized the giant dragon's flames, the [Boar] leaped.
Like a rocket fired from a launchpad, the [Boar] pounced on the giant red dragon in the air. Burying its tusks into the giant dragon's chest, the ferocious and charging [Boar] then crashed into the ground together with the flying beast.
Entangled together, the two beasts did not separate after falling to the ground.
The situation was as though two human martial artists were grappling with pinning techniques.
The [Boar] was on top with the red dragon pinned underneath. However, the giant dragon reached out with its long neck and bit the [Boar]'s stout head. Blood gushed out from the wound.
Next, the giant dragon's hind legs were still equipped with those "terrible claws" of the Deinonychus.
The two hooked claws buried themselves respectively in the left and right sides of the [Boar]'s body, tearing into it. Although the [Boar] was superior in its ability to charge, a fight on the ground seemed to be favoring the giant dragon.
Just as the battle was about to be decided, Erica sprang into action.
"O red emblem formed from a cross... Turn into a wedge and pierce the enemy!"
Enveloped entirely in red light, the sacred exterminator flew at full speed.
Using the shield on her left hand to guard her body, she charged in a straight line towards the giant red dragon's flank.
Striking the enemy with her body along with the lion's magic sword, it was as though a giant's right straight punch had landed on the massive dragon — This was quite similar to the charging attack that Erica's uncle had performed back in the present.
Strong as the red dragon was, its massive head still shook from the blow and released the [Boar]'s head from its jaws.
Were it an ordinary divine beast, this attack would have simply defeated it.
Nevertheless, as expected of the "hidden move" that Udin had poured his power into, the giant dragon remained alive.
Erica continued to fly and separated herself from the giant dragon's side.
Due to exhausting the exterminator's power in the attack just now, the light enveloping her had weakened and she was about to land. However, she had already distanced herself a sufficient amount.
"Go! Now is the time for a full-powered attack to defeat the enemy!"
Godou instantly ordered the [Boar] who had time for respite thanks to
Erica.
The black beast inhaled deeply to fill its mouth with air.
Then it roared at full blast —
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO'
These were the Shockwaves the giant boar released by pouring its full power into them.
The destructive power caused the giant dragon's body to shake intensely, broken in various places all over by the Shockwaves. Using a human body as an analogy, it would be a tragic state like having all the bones crushed and all the internal organs ruptured.
Oh well, the price paid by the [Boar] was quite substantial too.
The Shockwaves also caused considerable damage to the [Boar]'s own body.
In the manner of mutual defeat, the two giant beasts desperately endured their pain, but finally succumbed — Both of them disappeared from the ground as a pair.
Immediately afterwards, a giant shadow appeared right before the eyes of
Godou's group.
It was the Deinonychus, the divine beast carrying Uldin as its rider.
Despite having lost its wings, it was still able to jump onto the castle walls with great agility.
Using those "terrible claws" to nimbly cling to the edge of the walls, the divine beast maintained its balance.
"Your Majesty, danger!"
Rushing in front of Godou, Ena slashed the divine sword's blade towards the divine beast's throat.
In response, the Deinonychus opened its mouth to reveal the dense rows of sharp teeth growing inside. This supernatural creature merely resembled a dinosaur but was no reptile. Godou expected it to spew out flames or lightning — But he guessed wrongly.
The Deinonychus puffed out gray smoke.
This was merely smoke that obscured one's view. However, it caught
Godou and Ena completely by surprise.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Deinonychus swung its flexible tail with a "whoosh" like a whip.
"Waaaaah!"
Struck by the attack, Ena was blown far and away.
She was sent flying outside the castle walls like a golf ball that had been struck by the stroke of a club. Then the Deinynochus nimbly leapt down to pursue the Hime-Miko for a follow-up attack.
Naturally, Godou followed, intending to rescue Ena —
Whoosh! At the sound of slicing wind, Godou evaded the attack on instinct.
He jumped towards the outside of the walls, landing on the ground from the five-meter height of the castle walls. Guarding his head with his arms, he buffered the impact and rolled on the ground.
Thanks to a Campione's sturdy body, all he suffered were minor scratches.
Despite the stinging pain all over his body and the unsightly maneuver,
Godou had no time to care about that. This was because three arrows had passed through the spot Godou had just occupied.
On ground level once more, Godou endured the pain and stood up instantly.
He looked up at the castle walls where the other godslayer was standing.
"Well dodged, comrade. I've long wanted to enjoy the fun of this kind of one-on-one duel. Man, I am so late to the party."
Readying his bow, Uldin nocked an arrow and aimed at Godou on the ground.
Involuntarily, Godou had jumped down to the ground in the scene that had just transpired. Now, the two Campiones' positions were once again reversed from earlier.
Part 4
The stronghold's surroundings were littered with the corpses of the mini-pterosaurs.
Remains were rolling everywhere. Since almost a hundred pterosaurs were wiped out by the [Boarj's Shockwave attacks, this was only to be expected.
Erica struggled with her exhausted body and made her way towards the stronghold unsteadily.
The sacred privilege of extermination was fully depleted. Erica felt exhausted all over and her head was aching.
Indeed, it was difficult to replicate her uncle's sustainability when using a
Paladino-level mystic ritual beyond what her body could withstand.
However, the boy she loved absolutely was currently still engaged in the fight against Uldin.
Very likely, the battle was fast approaching the end phase. She had to hurry over and help him — !
Erica mustered all her strength to rush towards the stronghold. Just as she was doing so, she saw one of her companions fall through the air, tracing out a parabolic trajectory.
It was Seishuuin Ena, wielding Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi.
However, the Hime-Miko of the Sword was truly amazing. Just as she was about to strike the ground, she swiftly turned herself.
Splendidly landing on her feet, her motions were akin to a cat's.
However, she seemed to have suffered heavy injuries already. After landing, she had difficulty standing properly. Crouching down, she held the side of her abdomen with her free left hand while she wielded Ama no
Murakumo no Tsurugi in her right.
"Ena-san, are you injured!?"
"l-lt's fine. Just minor wounds. Ena will take care of that beast immediately!"
Ena twisted her face as though in pain, answering Erica as she remained in her crouching posture.
She did not look fine at all. However, she was right about there being a beast — This time, a Deinonychus descended from the air. It had apparently jumped down in pursuit of Ena.
Landing on the ground, the Deinonychus swiftly discovered the weakened
Ena.
Stretching out its head, back and tail in a straight line, it ran and approached, opening its grotesque jaws in an attempt to bite the
Hime-Miko!
"Grampsy, if you can hear me — Lend your power to Ena!"
Just as she was about to be torn apart by the Deinonychus' teeth, Ena cried out.
Immediately, the divine power of Susanoo erupted from her body. Using the power of the storm god who ruled over the wind and the atmosphere, she created a small tornado to suppress the Deinonychus' movements.
She had probably remained crouching in order to bait the enemy to attack.
"Yaaaaaah!"
Taking this opportunity to stand up, she launched Ama no Murakumo no
Tsurugi as one would throw a lance.
Responding well to this manner of usage which was impossible for ordinary swords, the divine sword's sharp blade pierced the Deinonychus' throat.
Dealt a fatal blow by the attack, the divine beast's giant body fell over sideways.
Erica was dumbfounded. The Deinonychus had been fighting like a beast just now. This was completely different from the hit-and-run tactics it used in Uldin's presence.
"S-Since Uldin-san is currently busy fighting His Majesty, E-Ena thought it probably might work."
Panting heavily, Ena picked up Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi.
She was still showing a face full of suffering as she pressed her hand against the side of her abdomen. Even so, Ena still cast her gaze towards the stronghold in worry.
The two warriors were facing off, one above and one below the castle walls — Uldin and Kusanagi Godou.
"In any case, I'll cast healing magic on you first."
"Th-Thanks. Erica-san, you're really thoughtful..."
This type of healing magic was not immediately effective. It took a certain length of time before the effects would appear.
Even so, Erica still applied the spell. Ena gave Erica a gaze of gratitude and the two girls nodded at each other.
They had to return to Godou's side as quickly as possible — Without even discussing, the pair had already reached the same decision.
Erica lent her shoulder for Ena to lean on as she walked while gritting her teeth.
At this moment, an unbelievable phenomenon happened.
However, this was also foreseen beforehand, because they had already heard about this type of power.
"This really is..."
"In other words, Uldin finally used his trump card..."
Seeing the various corpses stand up, Ena and Erica whispered softly to each other.
Turning back time slightly —
Erica and Ena were not present. The [Boar] had already disappeared.
Godou was finally all alone. Conversely, Uldin was also alone. The Hunnic godslayer readied his small bow and took down from his belt the quiver of arrows he had taken from the dragon saddle.
Uldin was standing atop the castle walls while Godou was below. Due to this positioning, close-quarter combat was not possible.
"Like I said, the battle isn't decided yet..."
Godou muttered. He still had another incarnation available. Namely, the
[Goat].
This sacred beast, capable of using lightning, was unlocked whenever the populace suffered from atrocities and became his allies. Uldin was Augusta
Raurica's enemy and there were twenty thousand citizens living in the vicinity of this stronghold.
Godou was perfectly capable of drawing on this power from the populace using psychic sensing.
Unlike arrows, there was no issue of "running out of ammunition." Perhaps the battle had actually swung in his favor now —
Just as Godou was about to invoke the [Goat], he suddenly felt dizzy.
"The... heck...?"
His feet tangled together. Godou was filled with nausea and even his entire body felt cold.
He was quite shocked by this first experience.
"Did it finally take effect? Only befitting of my kin to display such resilience."
Uldin smiled wryly as he gazed down at Godou from atop the castle walls.
"Ordinary poisons have no effect on us, but this substance, prepared from the distant orient and delivered here — specially made to cause even a godslayer to faint — has finally exerted its effects."
Poison!? Impossible, Godou thought. Although there was that time when
Liliana drugged him in the past, but a Campione's ridiculously tough body possessed considerable resistance to poisons.
When the heck did he eat anything like that?
Godou had been carefully paying attention to his food during his stay in
Uldin's castle and did not notice eating anything poisoned...
Could it be — Godou realized something and was suddenly shocked.
Uldin smiled with delight and took out an arrow from his quiver.
Just as imagined, there was a viscous, transparent liquid dripping down from the arrowhead.
Godou was struck in the shoulder by one of these arrows just now.
Speaking of which, applying poison onto arrows for shooting people and animals was apparently one of the tactics that equestrian tribes were skilled in.
According to history, the warriors at Kamakura city had suffered much from them during the invasion of the Mongolians' Yuan dynasty.
Strength was gradually sapped from Godou's body.
Slowly, he toppled forwards and fell on one knee.
"Hohohoho. It's not very sporting, but it looks like this battle is about to conclude with my victory."
Uldin drew his bow and shot an arrow.
Further poisoning would probably decide the victor then and there.
Using all four limbs like a wolf, Godou mustered all his strength to jump right.
He managed to evade, barely. Then the second and third arrows sliced through the wind. Despite Godou's four-legged stance, dodging the second arrow precariously — He could not escape the third.
The arrow embedded itself in his left calf.
"Guah!"
A pang of sharp pain. The arrow went deep into his calf.
Now that his leg was injured, Godou could no longer dodge in the same manner as before. Very soon, the poison should be taking effect. But luckily, the arrow had not struck any major arteries or anything critical.
In other words, Godou still had enough remaining strength to make a bid for final victory —
Thanks to that, he was prepared to take a gamble, no holds barred.
Godou intended to pour all of his remaining power into the [Goat].
Enduring the pain in his leg, the nausea and the chills, he forced himself to stand up by relying on willpower alone.
Watching Godou from above, Uldin unexpectedly threw his bow away.
The Huns' long-range weapon made a clatter as it rolled down the side of the castle walls.
"Even forced into a corner as a wounded beast, you still aim for a chance to counterattack. As my fellow kin, you are surely capable of that. You are really quite a delightful fellow!"
Uldin smiled as he gazed down at Godou.
Up until now, the smiles he displayed had all been all cheerful and full of positive fighting spirit. But currently, this smile was filled with savagery. It was the smile of a hunter determined to slay his prey.
Uldin was also planning to make a bid for final victory.
Feeling like he was facing himself, Godou clicked his tongue. As expected of his fellow kin.
Even faced with overwhelming odds — Or rather, precisely because of that, he must summon his full power to defeat the enemy!
"Come to my side, the sword of victory!"
The Hunnic godslayer shouted spell words.
"So long as you exist in this very hand, I shall obtain victory in any and every battlefield. So long as you exist in this very hand, my army is rendered immortal and invincible!"
Having forsaken the bow, Uldin raised his empty right hand towards the sky.
A longsword suddenly manifested in his hand.
The slender blade of steel measured roughly 80cm or so. The hilt was modest and completely unadorned. However, accompanying the manifestation of this longsword, symbols began to descend from the sky.
Norse runes. Symbols looking like "t", shaped like upward pointing arrows.
■.■ - J.;
Countless symbols of this form descended from the sky like snow.
Thanks to the knowledge imparted by Erica and Ena, Godou understood the meaning of this rune. It was the rune symbolizing the Norse war god of victory and battle.
"So this is the power of that god called Tyr!?"
"That Ruska girl, I can't believe she even disclosed my trump card."
Uldin smiled wryly for an instant in response to Godou's mutterings.
However, he immediately resumed his solemn countenance and raised the sword in his right hand high up in the air.
"O Tyr's Sword, grant to my army immortality and victory!"
Hearing this command, the numerous corpses stood up all at once.
As the unending stream of Tyr's runes descended upon their bodies, the mini-pterosaurs that were previously wiped out all opened their eyes, struggled to their feet and spread their wings.
Even the injuries suffered back when they were struck down by the [Boar]'s
Shockwaves were completely healed.
— The war god Tyr was also a god with the [Steel] attribute. As one from the lineage of steel, that implied properties of immortal indestructibility.
Godou recalled his formidable foe, Lancelot du Lac.
This authority was similar to what the goddess possessed. In this case, immortality manifested in the form of resurrecting one's own army!
Furthermore, not only the mini-pterosaurs but also the giant red dragon the
[Boar] had defeated were appearing in the air once more.
"Guh! O guardian of the righteous, I offer sacrifice and invite you!"
Godou immediately invoked the [Goat] incarnation.
Gathering the feelings of the populace, this incarnation controlled lightning and possessed "priestly" powers.
Godou expanded the range of psychic sensing — releasing it towards
Augusta Raurica, intending to gather the willpower of the populace that feared Uldin. However, he did not succeed.
Before his sensing powers could explode in range, one of the mini-pterosaurs was already attacking him.
Godou pointed his right hand towards the throat of the viciously pouncing pterosaur.
The lightning from his palm struck the mini-pterosaur dead. Although the potency was much less compared to when he gathered power from the majority of the populace, it was enough to handle enemies of this level.
Nevertheless, Godou was instantly surrounded despite defeating the first beast.
He was surrounded by the resurrected mini-pterosaur army of roughly a hundred.
Furthermore, circling in the air was the giant red dragon whose gaze was directed towards Godou on the ground. More importantly, Uldin was still standing on top of the castle walls.
Stabbing Tyr's Sword into the pathway, he picked up the bow he had tossed away just now.
There was an absolute disadvantage in numbers. Although the [Goatj's lightning was quite powerful, it did not have the explosive force to clear out the encircling enemies in one clean sweep. An attack like the [White
Stallion] was required to achieve that sort of effect.
Furthermore, the number of divine beasts increased further by one.
A Deinonychus was running towards him, opposite to where he was facing.
It was the one that had gone chasing after Ena just now.
Godou began to tremble, feeling as though his heart was clutched by a grim reaper's hand. Was the Hime-Miko killed already? — Just as he experienced this fear.
Then at this very moment —
The ice-cold sensation of steel returned to his right arm.
'Your Majesty! Ena and Erica-san are fine. So go on and use it!'
Returned to Godou's right arm, the partner transmitted the Hime-Miko's message to him.
Godou smiled involuntarily. He felt relieved. Thank goodness.
With that, he could continue fighting! This involuntary smile was filled with savagery that only Uldin could rival.
"Ama no Murakumo! Prepare a dragon for me!"
The instant Godou issued this order, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi manifested in his right hand.
Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi possessed the power to "replicate an enemy's divine powers and authority." This time, Godou commanded it to simulate Uldin's [Dragon Taming] ability.
Released from Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, the divine power called out to an approaching pterosaur.
This was the one Uldin had been riding, the Deinonychus that was chasing
Ena earlier.
Regrettably, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi's copying powers could only control one beast apparently. Godou forced his feeble body to move once more. As fast as possible, he had to reach the dragon's saddle.
"What!?"
Uldin was stunned. This was only natural.
The pterosaur he had summoned for his own support had now gone over to Godou and even allowed the enemy that should be defeated to ride it and take flight. However —
"I am utterly impressed. This doesn't really matter to me, but you really are a resilient fellow! Chase after him!"
Uldin immediately smiled with joy and calmly issued orders for pursuit.
The army of mini-pterosaurs took flight one after another to pursue Godou who was flying through the night sky.
As expected of the ancient Campione, Uldin also seemed to understand quite well that godslayers were precisely the kinds of creatures whose dormant potential exploded only in response to minuscule chances of victory.
Part 5
Thus, Godou was currently fleeing with an army of mini-pterosaurs in pursuit.
Their flight speeds were apparently comparable, hence Godou was able to maintain the lead from his head start.
Since he had no destination, Godou simply ordered the pterosaur to fly horizontally in the moon's direction.
The crescent moon was shining with pristine, white radiance. Speaking of which, Madame Aisha's corridor was (probably) going to open when the full moon came — ?
Riding on the dragon saddle, Godou found the experience unexpectedly similar to horse riding.
In other words, "it's not bad once you get used to it." Poisoned and having an arrow through his leg, Godou found it quite painful to force this kind of body to ride the pterosaur.
His entire body was exhausted. Even fueled by willpower, he was unable to move freely.
If his consciousness started to get hazy, not only would he lose grip of
Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, but he would also fall off the dragon saddle. In that case, things would be over if he finally fell from a height of two or three hundred meters.
— Suddenly, he noticed the mini-pterosaurs were gaining on him from behind.
Godou squeezed out more power to raise his pterosaur's speed. Releasing the [Goat]'s lightning, he struck down one of the pursuing pterosaurs. An instant kill.
But it was no time to celebrate. The enemies were still quite numerous.
Furthermore, he did not know if Tyr's authority could resurrect them repeatedly.
Even if he continued to rely on the [Goat]'s powers to fight, he would still gradually get cornered. If the battle continued to drag on, Kusanagi Godou would surely deplete all his energy in the middle —
Currently, what he needed was a decisive power that could end the battle in one strike.
The [White Stallion] was already used. However, there was still hope.
Still, Godou was not confident he could control it well. Fortunately, this was in the air and there were no settlements or companions in the surroundings.
If he were to use the power that Yuri had prepared specifically in premonition of this crisis, now was the only time.
"Dawn's secret archives huh..."
As Godou chanted spell words, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi began to burn with black flames.
"Lend unto me the skills of the witch... goddess!"
Before coming to ancient Gaul, Yuri had released this sealed power.
These were the "spell words" left behind not too long ago as the dawn goddess Circe's legacy. These spell words were far too simple to be called an authority. By chanting this incantation, Kusanagi Godou was granted for a short duration the witch goddess' divine power of magical control —
This could be described as an impromptu grimoire, a guide for controlling a goddess' powers.
Using this power, Kusanagi Godou was able to draw out the [Sword of the
Beginning and the End], despite not being a goddess himself, to obtain the power of heaven and earth's creation!
"Those that summon storms... A thousand dragons, a thousand snakes.
Gather now to become a blade!"
Godou finally used it a second time.
Relying on the gift left behind by Athena together with the power painstakingly bestowed by Circe, Godou finally managed to master the ritual of destruction and rebirth. Those involved in the world of magic, not knowing any better, would probably mistaken this as "Kusanagi Godou's third authority."
The small star of darkness manifested over the crescent moon.
This stellar object immediately expanded and instantly grew to a diameter of dozens of meters.
Then it began to rotate. Spinning horizontally, it was slow at first but high-speed revolution instantly resulted. Gwoon. Gwoon. The rotating black star gave off its distinctive noise.
Wielded in Godou's right hand, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi was completely shrouded in black flames whose temperature could not be felt.
'Let's go, king! Hereby execute the ritual of heaven and earth's creation.
Now is the time to summon the storm!'
These were Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi's thoughts.
Despite possessing self-awareness, the divine sword seldom spoke. Only in battle — and during critical moments like this did it make an exception.
Just as Godou nodded to acknowledge his partner's words, the storm was produced.
From overhead, the storm was blowing due to the star of darkness.
Rather than blowing outwards, these strong winds flowed to suck things in.
The raging winds swirled in the dark star's surroundings, forming a cyclone, resulting in a storm.
Chasing after Godou, the army of mini-pterosaurs were sucked towards the star of darkness like particles of dust.
Even as the mini-pterosaurs desperately resisted by flapping their wings, it was futile.
"This is getting out of hand..."
Godou could not help but mutter to himself.
Beneath his flying pterosaur was a vast plain belonging to ancient Gaul.
Green pastures stretched all the way to the horizon. Apart from scattered beech and oak trees, the terrain was virtually flat.
However, the landscape of this plain was now changing.
The star of darkness not only sucked in the pterosaur army but also the atmosphere of the night sky, the grass, the trees, the flowers and the soil.
Accompanied by the howling of the wind, a large amount of soil and dirt flew into the air.
Naturally, a massive hole was being dug out of the ground. At first ten-odd meters in diameter, the hole was gradually expanding, almost large enough to be called a crater.
If this was happening in the modern world, who knew how much damage would be caused — ?
Furthermore, a tragic fate awaited all the mini-pterosaurs, caught in this gravitational storm.
As if mocking them, the star of darkness mercilessly pulled in the mini-pterosaurs despite their struggles, wiping out the pterosaur army from the night sky with exceptional speed.
Completely erased. There was no worry of whether Tyr's Sword could resurrect them anymore.
On the other hand, Godou and his dragon mount barely managed to resist the wind drawing them in.
'O king, time to use more power! Or else we too shall be sucked into it!'
Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi warned. Godou instantly poured magical power into the divine sword. Don't suck us in as well — He shouted strongly in his thoughts.
Thanks to that, the storm blowing around the star of darkness just managed to miss Godou and his mount.
However, every time the raging wind blew past them, the pterosaur would still shake very unsteadily, almost losing balance.
It would not be surprising for the rider, Godou, to fall off at any moment.
"Gun — I'm almost at my limit huh..."
The spitting headache caused Godou to frown.
His control over the dark star and the raging storm was reaching a limit.
Although Circe's power was assisting him, this was still too difficult for
Godou who had yet to get used to controlling it.
Even something as simple as a sigh of relief would probably make him lose control. Furthermore —
"Hahahaha! This man here, I can't believe you were hiding such a trump card!"
Still in good shape, the enemy was laughing with exhilaration.
Uldin was riding astride a pterosaur, flying in pursuit of Godou.
There was also another pterosaur following behind him. He had apparently
"disassembled" the giant red dragon to release the two dinosaurs from the union. Presumably, the massive body was harder to ride.
Uldin was mounted on the boundary between the pterosaur's head and shoulders as though he were riding a horse.
Using his legs to grip the pterosaur's body, he maintained his balance in a skillful posture. Furthermore, he was still carrying Tyr's Sword in his hand.
"Ending the battle with a dragon race sounds like a fun idea, comrade!"
The second pterosaur behind the Hunnic godslayer was also sucked into the star of darkness.
However, Uldin's pterosaur barely managed to stay safe, because the rider had poured almost all of his magical power into the pterosaur, thereby strengthening its flying ability.
Uldin was already the [Dragon Tamer], hence being able to strengthen his dragon mount was only to be expected.
On Godou's side, he had no choice but to strengthen his own dragon mount and prepare to strike back.
However, both his body and mind were reaching their limits —
Brandishing the sword of victory, Uldin flew towards Godou whose stamina and magical power were almost completely depleted. Their distance began to shrink slowly.
Once the enemy caught up close enough to attack with his sword, it would be Godou's defeat.
Godou did not have any strength to spare for evasion. Neither could he release the [Goat]'s lightning. In exchange for flying to this location, the price he paid was that he could no longer locate Erica, Ena or Augusta
Raurica's twenty thousand citizens. Consequently, he was unable to gather power from them.
If he made use of psychic sensing, perhaps he would be able to locate them. But Godou really did not have the leisure to do so.
Hence — This could be described as literally "checkmate."
Even so, Godou could still struggle desperately, simply powered by a mental state of "I'm not gonna lose to you", consequences be damned, as well as the strength provided by companions who could not possibly exist here.
'Kusanagi Godou!'
'Godou-san. Almost there!'
These were the voices of girls who were not supposed to be present.
The thoughts of Liliana Kranjcar and Mariya Yuri. Using the [Goat]'s psychic sensing to hear these voices, Godou felt intrigued. However, these voices were definitely quite nearby.
Were they watching him through some sort of means...?
Nevertheless, Godou immediately tossed these incomprehensible queries aside for now.
This was because he noticed he had received power from Liliana and Yuri who were not supposed to be here — life force and magical power. It was not very much, but with this, it was now possible!
"There... How's that!?"
With his companions' help, Godou converted the total remainder of his magical power into lightning and released it from his left hand.
A direct hit on Uldin's dragon mount. At this moment, the Hunnic godslayer had just circled to above Godou's left and was just about to slash with Tyr's
Sword.
GAAAAAAAAAAAAH !
Struck in the face by lightning, the pterosaur screamed. Then captured by the dark star's gravity, it was finally pulled over.
"It's not over yet!"
Unbelievably, Uldin jumped over from the pterosaur's back —
He had taken a leap, aiming for the dragon saddle on Godou's pterosaur.
Along the way, he threw away Tyr's Sword and drew a hatchet from his belt instead. On top of a saddle — in a fight at such close quarters, a small weapon as easily swung as a knife was more advantageous.
Hence, he substituted a hatchet for his sword. As expected of a guy accustomed to real combat.
Oh well, since Godou had immediately returned Ama no Murakumo no
Tsurugi to within his right arm and desperately grabbed the wrist of Uldin's hatchet-wielding hand, he was not that different from his enemy after all...
That said, Uldin held the absolute advantage in physical strength.
For the sake of victory, Godou chose a final taboo method without any hesitation. Silently ordering the star of darkness overhead to "disappear as quickly as possible," he commanded the pterosaur at the same time:
"Descend like this! Fly towards the ground!"
"What!?"
In the moment of Uldin's surprise, the pterosaur began its rapid descent.
With the disappearance of the star of darkness, the force of attraction vanished accordingly. Hence, there was no longer anything to hinder the pterosaur's flight.
In this manner, the pterosaur flew its hardest towards the empty plain, finally crashing violently.
Naturally, this resulted in Godou and Uldin's crash landing together as well.
References
1. t Joshua 6:13,16
2. t Hassou-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.http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Hass%C5%8D-no-kamae
3. t Joshua 6:26
4. t Joshua 6:26
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