Campione! - Volume 17 - Chapter 5.4

Part 4 

The return from the Netherworld was quite abrupt. After learning that name in the Netherworld beach, it only took a minute or two to teleport to the ruins of the destroyed race track.  

Godou was looking down at the track from what used to be the grandstand. The de-aged sworn sister and the "King of the End" holding the Divine Sword of Salvation were there. Currently, they were looking in his direction, having interrupted their battle.  

Godou whispered to Ena, who was next to him, dressed in her miko outfit.  

"Seishuuin, get away from me. The others should be nearby."  

"Yes, understood. Ena will go look for them."  

To remain on standby with Erica and Liliana, so as to support Godou at an opportune moment.  

Ena was assigned the usual role of responsibility. However, the current opponent was powerful to an unprecedented extent and greatly troublesome. Perhaps the burden on Ena might be too heavy.  

After all, the Hime-Miko of the Sword held the highest combat strength among her companions as the wielder of Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi. She seemed to have realized it herself as well. Nodding firmly, she left Godou with quick footsteps.  

Finally, it was time to duel this man—the "King of the End."  

Jumping down to the track from the grandstand, Godou walked over to the central area.  

"Nee-san, you became a midget."  

"You returned too late. Now that I have bought time for you in this manner, as the younger brother, you must compensate your elder sister with commensurate piety."  

"Leave it to me. I came back to be that prince's opponent."  

Luo Cuilian's young and beautiful face smiled tenderly in response to Godou's declaration after he arrived by her side.  

This haughty attitude did not resemble a child's at all. Even with her height and limbs diminished in size, her identity as the Ruler of the Martial Realm was not shaken the slightest.  

The intelligent sworn sister immediately noticed the reason why Godou had deliberately avoided addressing the enemy as the "King of the End."  

"Very well, I can understand how the younger brother wishes to fight before the sister. As the elder sister, I shall concede the greatest formidable foe to you."  

The sworn sister's smile changed in nature.  

The arrogant smile just now had turned into a smile of tender sweetness emanating from the heart.  

She was probably feeling happy for Godou's accomplishments and for having acquired the trump card for opposing the "King of the End." What Luo Cuilian normally exhibited was sublime, ice-cold beauty. Only on the battlefield, when locked in an intense struggle against powerful enemies would she show a smile that would put any flower to shame.  

Hence, the "King of the End" stared at Godou.  

"I have waited long for you, Kusanagi Godou. Apart from Her Highness Luo Hao, I also hoped to meet you again."  

Shouldering the destiny of godslayer extermination, the hero smiled with gentleness.  

It was a cheerful attitude like he was a friend meeting Godou again after several years of separation. To him who had repeatedly experienced the equivalent of eternal wandering and conflict, perhaps the Campiones were the outsiders closest to him instead.  

Unable to resent him no matter what, Godou spoke up:  

"On the other hand, I don't want to meet you. Since meeting you means fighting, you'll be forced to do what you hate the mast."  

"Oh."  

"Sorry, I have no chance of winning unless I do this. So let me be blunt from the start."  

Just as the Devil King-exterminating hero was feeling puzzled...  

The wind was howling. Ever since the "King of the End" awakened, the strong winds attacking the Kantou region today had not changed. However, the raging gale formed a vortex above the race track, turning into a mini-tornado.  

Then the tornado took on the Wind King's form.  

The war god of wind and steel, whose identity was concealed behind a mask and strips of cloth wrapped around his entire body.  

Godou nodded. The dearest retainer to the "King of the End" may be the younger brother who shared the same blood. However, the most powerful subordinate was undoubtedly this wind god.  

Noticing the master's danger, he had rushed here first.  

A medallion suddenly appeared in the Wind King's hand. The divine artifact made of a gold-iron alloy—The [Arrowhead's Discus]. It looked like he wanted to summon the three heroes.  

Staring closely at the "King of the End," Godou spoke in a low voice.  

"—You are the hero who frequently leads subordinates. As noble royalty, as a general, one who leads soldiers to fight foreign Devil Kings."  

Speech formed spell words, turning into power, turning into blades.  

Godou's quiet voice transformed into spheres of splendorous golden light—The sword's spell words. These spheres of light flew towards the medallion in the Wind King's hand. There, dozens of them gathered.  

Those "swords" adhered tightly to the surface of the [Arrowhead's Discus].  

The medallion instantly turned gray in color. Originally the color of a gold alloy's, it suddenly changed colors.  

The sword's spell words had temporarily sealed away the power to summon heroes—The authority of the "King of the End."  

While the pale-haired aristocrat was feeling surprised, the Wind King prepared his stance.  

But Godou was not worried. The spheres of light kept manifesting as usual, filling the surroundings with golden radiance.  

"Needless to say, you are the hero who vanquishes Devil Kings."  

Floating in the air, the swords of spell words kept increasing in number.  

"Apart from that, you carry the characteristics of 'a war god of steel' and 'the wandering aristocrat who uses a bow.' Your tale was even taken into a story in Buddhist scripture, spreading its deep influence in folklore all over Asia."  

Every time Godou spoke softly, dozens of spheres of light were produced, roughly fist-sized.  

Instantly, there were hundreds, thousands of them. The number of golden spheres of light was enough to fill up the entire race track.  

Every sphere of light was a blade for slicing the "King of the End."  

Looking from above, this scene would probably look like the birth of a spiraling galaxy on the ground. Furthermore, these clusters of stars were gradually expanding without impediment. But this was not enough. To further explain the origins of the Devil King-exterminator, Godou continued to compose spell words.  

"Perhaps there is no other hero who has produced such a deep influence on the myths and folklore in foreign lands. Here in Japan, the one most deeply influenced by you—was Momotarou. 'Once upon a time, at a certain place' is the typical opening to legends and stories, every Japanese person knows that. Even I know that."  

"Spell words of wisdom. The weapon to tear me asunder!?"  

The "King of the End" charged at Godou with speed and agility.  

At the same time, the Divine Sword of Salvation was sung down from an upper stance with lightning speed. A bifurcating slice. Even with a Campione's super reflexes and Godou's dynamic vision, it was difficult to see through.  

Nevertheless, in his current state, Godou was able to deflect the "King of the End" simply with a swift swing of his right hand.  

In response to this gesture, a hundred swords of spell words floating nearby flew at the hero of the divine blade, knocking him away like a barrage of punches.  

"Guh—!"  

The light from spell words were rushing fiercely at the "King of the End" like machine gunfire.  

The hero of the divine blade instantly held the Divine Sword of Salvation in a mid-level stance. Pointing the sword tip at Godou's face, for the very first time, he was using something other than an upper stance.  

The upper stance only allowed the swinging of the sword's blade. A stance exclusively for offense.  

While held in a mid-level stance, the sword could be swung as a shield. In other words, a stance carrying defense. In response, the Divine Sword Mandala rained down lightning again.  

Thousands, tens of thousands of lightning strikes were falling from the sky like a heavy rainstorm.  

However, this race track was currently occupied by the sword's spell words. Like clusters of stars forming a galaxy, spheres of golden light were everywhere.  

If one were to count these spheres of light exactly, the total would probably reach hundreds of thousands.  

This enormous number of light spheres absorbed the rain of lightning with ease. Lightning that was too powerful to absorb completely were deflected, altering their trajectories.  

Not a single bolt of lightning managed to reach Godou and Luo Cuilian on the ground.  

However, the Wind King charged at this time.  

This was a dash on all fours with a lowered posture like a beast's, occasionally touching the ground with his hands. The warrior of wind and steel instantly entered the realm of divine speed.  

Naturally, his target was Godou. However, even then, Godou did not stop chanting spell words.  

"Born from a peach, Momotarou crossed the ocean to set off for the island of 

Onigashima. Like you, he is a 'traveling hero.' The vanquishing of evil ogres on Onigashima is an alteration of the Devil King-exterminating mission."  

Naturally, the one who stepped in front of Godou instantly was the sworn sister.  

With flutter of her mandarin gown's hem, she used her right hand to strike the space in front of her. What she attacked was the wind god whose divine speed was impossible to capture with the naked eye.  

"Also, the followers aiding Momotarou—the dog, the monkey and the pheasant— originated from your trait as a frequent leader of subordinates!"  

Noticing the attack of the unidentified war god, Godou instantly yelled.  

Meanwhile, the pubescent Luo Cuilian was using the mind's eye to see through the movements of divine speed.  

One after another, she unleashed palm strikes. Indeed, they were not punches. With slender fingers extended, her palms were spread. Finally, she had unsealed her top skill, the Twelve Divine Palm Strikes of the Flying Phoenix.  

Fingers sharper than the tips of spears.  

Palm strikes hitting heavier than any hammer.  

Knifehand strikes sharper than any trenchant blade in the world.  

A flurry of attacks as dense as rainwater. Within the duration of a breath, she had already launched fourteen or fifteen palm strikes at the air.  

One of the knifehand strikes was what sent the Wind King flying despite having turned into wind of divine speed.  

Clang! The instant just as Luo Cuilian's left hand, smaller than usual in her pubescent form, chopped horizontally, a sharp metallic sound was heard while the Wind King was smashed against the ground.  

His appearance was still wrapped in white cloth with a mask.  

The wind god with the body of steel had been hit by a barehanded chop, struck down on the ground. Apparently unharmed. However, the white cloth hiding his chest was torn, exposing the body beneath.  

After a glance at him, Godou nodded.  

"Just as Momotarou can be considered your distant kin, his three followers—the dog, the monkey and the pheasant&mdashp;were influenced by your subordinate—the Wind King. Quick movements, wings for soaring in the sky, powerful strength for vanquishing evil ogres, and most important of all, the detail of not human in appearance."  

What the masked war god had obsessively concealed was his skin—rather, it was white fur.  

Finally exposed, the Wind King jumped back greatly in a fluster, landing behind his lord and master who had stabbed the divine blade into the ground to pick up the bow of steel.  

"You are going to disclose the origins of us, master and servant, aren't you? Kusanagi Godou."  

Saying that, the "King of the End" showed neither anger nor sadness on his face.  

With an attitude of resigned wisdom, capable of accepting everything no matter what happened next, his handsome face became even clearer. Seeing his expression, Godou realized:  

This guy was in all respects the polar opposite of Campiones such as himself.  

"In that case, go ahead and speak my true name. If you have arrived at the land of truth—"  

"Yeah. My [Sword] will surely block your arrows."  

A white arrow suddenly appeared in the hero's right hand.  

Analyzing the enemy was the ability belonging to Verethragna's final incarnation, the [Warrior]. That was why Godou understood. This arrow was infused with the power of the sun. Its firepower was enough to rival his own [White Stallion].  

The instant the solar arrow was nocked on the bow of steel, Godou spoke:  

"Your name has been a giant mystery over the long ages. Despite bringing influence upon various lands, both oriental and occidental, the progenitor is in Asia. Your tale even made its way deep into Buddhist parables. Furthermore, the hint to unraveling the mystery is Buddhist scripture—in other words, Buddhism itself!"  

Despite a thoroughly trained body of muscle, the "King of the End" was slender in physique.  

Even so, he was still able to draw a stiff bow of steel effortlessly, calmly shooting the solar arrow. The bowstring's sound reverberated all around.  

Next, what approached Godou and Luo Cuilian was not an arrow.  

Instead, it was a massive pillar of fire. Shot out, the arrow instantly transformed, turning into a flame pillar akin to coronal mass ejections from solar flares.  

In spite of that, Godou still spoke calmly and quietly.  

"Your homeland is the same as the origin of Buddhism, namely, ancient India."  

Turned into a solar flare, the solar arrow was rushing at them as forcefully as a lava flow.  

Nevertheless, Godou's mind remained completely unfazed. Calm. Thanks to assistance from his companions and the Princess of Glass, he had come to know the truth.  

Godou gathered the sword's spell words around him. The spell words of brilliant golden light arrived in unprecedented numbers, already on the scale of macrocosmic galaxies. Compressing this light, he formed a canopy of golden radiance.  

This was for covering his sworn sister and himself with defensive power of unprecedented strength.  

Hence, the spiraling solar flame was unable to incinerate this canopy in the slightest.  

"In yonder days, you were the heavenly child sent to the earth in order to defeat Ravana, the demon king of the Rakshasa, whom even the gods were unable to destroy. The prince from the kingdom of Kosala. A reincarnation of Vishnu who is revered alongside Shiva and Brahama as the trinity of supreme deities."  

"Alas—!"  

The pale-haired aristocrat sighed briefly. He had probably resolved himself.  

The name that had been concealed the whole time was finally coming to light now.  

"The epic poem recording his legend is the Ramayana, also known as the Tale of 

King Rama. The 'King of the End'—His true name is Rama, or alternatively, Ramachandra."  

The solar flame attacking Godou and Luo Cuilian was extinguished.  

The surrounding scenery no longer looked like a race track. Everything had turned into an incinerated plain.  

Hence, the two Campiones confronted the two gods, master and subordinate, face to face.  

Godou turned towards the Wind King standing behind the dignified aristocrat and quietly chanted spell words.  

"Serving King Rama was the devotee who soared the skies, Hanuman. One could call him, the flying monkey, the kin of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong. In addition to being a wind god's son, he also possessed immortality and monstrous strength."  

The white cloth wrapped around the war god of wind and steel was finally lifted and the mask also shattered.  

Revealed was a strange bipedal ape, standing roughly 180cm tall. Indeed, he was very similar to the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong. However, his fur was white and he was wearing a red loincloth.  

In addition, his face inexplicably gave off an impression of wisdom. At the same time, this air of virtue and brilliance was enough to call intellectual.