Part 2
"What the heck was that just now?"
Questioned by Godou, Rama smiled wryly as before.
"The one who takes on all distortion and insanity on my behalf... I suppose. It would be a long story. But everyone has grown impatient by now."
Indeed, Hanuman and Luo Cuilian were silently waiting with full concentration.
No one was relaxing their guard at all. Furthermore, in order to keep an eye on the surrounding situation so as to react immediately to any sudden movements from the enemy, they were quietly exuding battle spirit—
Godou shrugged.
It was evidently time to swing the sword of spell words and end the conversation.
The blazing plain was no longer recognizable as a race track at all. Godou transmitted strong thoughts to the tens of thousands of radiant spheres inside this space. Gather. Gather by my side.
Although it was fine to keep controlling the golden spheres of light as before—
The way he was now, Godou was able to create an even more powerful [Sword].
Furthermore, it was the essential weapon in the fight against Rama the great hero.
"I am the strongest, I shall smash through all enemies in my way. O blade belonging to the savior of the righteous, fragments of the glorious sun. Hereby serve the incarnation of victory!"
The instant Godou's lips composed these spell words...
The sword's spell words, reaching tens of thousands in number, the massive collective of radiant spheres began to move like a galaxy of light.
Colliding and merging together, the spheres of light changed in form and mass, soon turning into a weapon. A longsword with a golden blade—
The blade's length was beyond regular, measuring the same size as Godou's 180cm height.
The blade was also quite broad, roughly the width of a surfboard. Its thickness was like a steel plate's.
Eight of these giant golden swords were created in total.
By consolidating the sword's spell words, these eight holy swords of Verethragna were created as a result—the strongest weapons specially prepared by Kusanagi Godou for the decisive battle against Rama.
With their tips pointing downwards, the eight holy swords hovered in the air.
In addition, they were surrounding Godou on all sides. In order to guard their master from all attacks, the eight holy swords had entered a defensive formation. Meanwhile, the Devil King-exterminating hero called out loudly:
"A decisive battle challenging two godslaying Devil Kings... Seeing as that is the case, this venue is not wide enough. Then allow me to prepare an even bigger arena!"
Immediately, the ground suddenly glowed with white light.
Godou and everyone else had been standing on asphalt, the substance used to lay the race track. However, this ground had suddenly turned into stone tiles, shining with white radiance.
Frantically, he surveyed his surroundings to find that the scenery had changed all at once.
Somehow, they were now inside a city with white stone tiles everywhere in sight. The view extended endlessly as far as the eye could see. This ground was tiled entirely with stone.
Over half of the land was empty, most likely. There were not many buildings.
However, there were houses and towers built in various locations, all using gray stone in a mixture of black and white.
"When exactly were we moved to this city...!?"
"Nay! Prince Rama summoned this city!"
Campiones were highly resistant towards magic and divine powers. Since they were guarded by Verethragna's holy swords, even Rama would not be able to teleport them so easily.
In other words, he had summoned this city on which they were currently standing.
Thus, in this manner, the utterly destroyed race track was covered up!
"This belongs to me, so feel free to destroy it. Make full use of your authorities without holding back. I, too, shall meet you in battle with full force."
After Rama declared that, a vehicle of war appeared behind him.
Although a vehicle of war, this was no weapon of steel created in the modern world. Instead, it was a type of horse-drawn carriage that could carry several soldiers and armaments such as bows and spears. In the arenas of ancient Rome, chariot racing was one of the most popular sports.
Deftly, Rama jumped with agility onto the charioteer's platform.
Then this chariot began to move as though sliding on ice, without needing to be drawn by any horse, flying high in the sky!
"A sky chariot!?"
Godou realized it was a vehicle that had appeared many times in the epic poem, the Ramayana.
Better described as gliding rather than driving, the sky chariot flew swiftly and lightly, raising Rama's altitude instantly. He was now seventy or eighty meters in the air above Godou and Luo Cuilian.
Then the Devil King Exterminator yelled loudly:
"Divine Sword of Salvation. My army! Fellow friends! O heavenly weapons bestowed by the sages and the great gods! Now is the time to show your true power!"
His command achieved great effect. Shining brightly in the sky, the Divine Sword Mandala suddenly increased to four.
Previously, one symbol alone was enough to produce lightning strikes of immense destructive power. Now, the number had increased to four.
Furthermore, all four of them arrived above Godou and Luo Cuilian at the same time.
The four mandalas were positioned north, east, south, west in a formation, surrounding Godou and the sworn sister completely.
An indiscriminate barrage of lightning was launched again.
Four times as much lightning was attacking from four different directions. Incomparably frightening power and pressure. Godou was quite surprised by the purely physical increase.
"So that's what he meant by full force!"
The lightning was descending nonstop like a rainstorm.
However, Godou and the sworn sister standing beside him did not move an inch. Surrounding the two of them, the eight holy swords of Verethragna had created an invisible shield, blocking the lightning's power completely.
The lightning's heat and shock could not reach the two Campiones.
The eight holy swords were the ultimate weapons forged from the sword for slicing apart and sealing away the hero Rama's divinity. Their defense could not be penetrated so easily.
However, this type of attack powered by numbers was not pointless.
The sword's spell words would deplete gradually from use. If they were to suffer this endless barrage of attacks, the eight holy swords were not going to endure for long and would lose their power. Having fully awakened through the great ritual of the covenant, Rama definitely possessed the massive magic power required to persist in this absurd bombardment to the very end!
At the same time, riding the sky chariot, Rama also shot arrows from the air.
The arrows shot from the steel bow of the universally blessed hero were not merely ranged weapons.
Successively fired arrows each carried divine power from the thunder god Indra, the fire god Agni and the sun god Surya respectively. Rama was shooting these arrows nonstop without being stingy with them at all.
Whenever an arrow descended upon the shield erected by the eight holy swords, a massive explosion would result.
Even the weakest arrow was able to cause an explosion and shockwave that would destroy a town outright. Furthermore, there were destructive bonuses.
Wherever the arrows struck, the vicinity would incinerate to nothing by fire and lightning.
Even so, Rama kept taking out "the arrow with double power," "the arrow with triple power," "the arrow with ten times the power" nonstop.
"It's almost like inflation..."
His senses going numb, Godou remarked wryly.
So far, the eight holy swords of Verethragna had defended flawlessly against the arrows' firepower. However, although the sword's spell words were much stronger than before, it was unknown how long they could last. Cold sweat flowed down his forehead.
Meanwhile, the pubescent sworn sister murmured with a look of comprehension.
"Speaking of which, this was the style heroes in ancient India."
After hearing that, Godou nodded.
Due to knowledge about Prince Rama, he immediately understood.
India's other great epic poem, the Mahabharata, also featured heroes who frequently used weapons including arrows and javelins. These projectiles were mostly magical weapons, using magic to spread fire and lightning, thus producing massive destruction.
Furthermore, the heroes would even ride chariots to fly across the sky.
After reading deeply into those descriptions, people came up with strange theories such as "ancient India was a super civilization surpassing modern science and technology" or "evidence of nuclear war fought using missiles between flying ships (or UFOs)."
"Godou. It is time for us siblings to counterattack."
"Well said. Things can only get worse gradually at this rate... I could probably win just by using the sword, if facing an ordinary enemy."
After revealing the hero Rama's name, Godou obtained these eight holy swords of Verethragna.
Just one of them alone probably held enough power to equal tens of thousands of the sword's spell words. However, the great ritual of the covenant supplied Rama with massive magic power—most likely having surpassed the latent power in the eight holy swords.
However, Luo Cuilian made a gorgeous smile while speaking:
"Although the earlier match was child's play with tacit understanding between us to hold back... I never expected him to conceal power of this extent."
Godou had seen his sworn sister make this look before. This was an honest expression of delight at the enemy's powerful abilities.
However, she suddenly gazed at Godou mischievously.
"Now that Sri Rama has flown into the sky, if we were to remain on the ground—
"
"We'll have no chance of winning. I've got an idea, so let me handle it. Together with all the effort you've put in so far, Nee-san, I'm putting on a grand performance next."
"Hohoho. To think you are bragging so boldly before me."
Godou was not used to the sight of his sworn sister smiling calmly as a pubescent girl. Nevertheless, he shrugged.
"You originally said you were conceding the greatest foe to me. After all, you only barely managed to recover, but you're still far from peak condition."
Although Godou had no idea what kind secret technique his sworn sister had used...
The fact that her body regressed in age clearly implied it was quite a reckless method. Despite recovering her depleted magic power, surely it was only about half compared to the original amount.
And also due to having a child's body, her stamina would be different from usual.
At these times, I should be the one stepping forward—Thinking that, Godou asserted clearly:
"It'll trouble me if I let the wounded enter the fray. So assist me from behind, Nee-san. I'm counting on you."
"Seriously! Your manner of speaking to the supreme elder sister is still so irreverent. However, so be it. Being able to brag so boldly could also be taken as proof of your growth."
"Sorry about that. But I'm sure you'll definitely have a chance to enter the stage, Nee-san."
The enemy was powerful to an unprecedented extent. This was absolutely an intense battle requiring them to go all out.
Furthermore, while this conversation was taking place, the four mandalas kept raining down lightning. Rama also kept firing consecutively at Godou and Luo Cuilian on the ground with his mysterious arrows of massive firepower.
These attacks all came from the hero Rama's divine power, hence they were unable to break through Verethragna's eight holy swords.
Despite the hellish situation outside the shield, caused by the impacts and explosions, the interior remained calm and peaceful. However.
Of the eight golden swords surrounding Godou and Luo Cuilian—one of them turned into the color of steel.
The spell words for slicing apart and sealing away Rama's divinity were being consumed rapidly.
After all, this could not be helped if one were to endure the enemy's overwhelming attacks persistently. Turning into the color of steel, the holy sword then vanished.
It was Godou's turn to switch from defense to offense. Speaking to the partner dormant in his right arm, he ordered:
"Ama no Murakumo! Get me one of those flying chariots!"
'Affirmative!'
This was the same tactic he had used in the battle against Uldin. Since the enemy could fly in the sky, all he needed to do was order Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi to replicate this power so that he could use it himself.
This time, the power to control a sky chariot was emulated.
Honestly speaking, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi's copying power was not that powerful, unable to emulate authorities for causing grand miracles. However, one could only make do in this regard.
A chariot appeared before Godou, identical to Rama's in appearance.
"Thanks, take us up into the sky!"
Jumping onto the chariot with his sworn sister, Godou commanded. This was a mode of transport that could be freely controlled by thought alone. Furthermore, the passengers were exposed to neither heat nor cold nor the effects of air pressure. An unmatched and supreme riding experience.
Needless to say, Verethragna's seven holy swords flew and followed the chariot.
The seven holy swords lined themselves next to the chariot with four on the right and three on the left, practically like a pair of wings.
Neither did they neglect to guard the chariot and the passengers with a defensive shield. Thanks to that, even when struck by lightning or arrows, the chariot did not shake in the slightest. Given the way things were now—
"Get rid of those golden shiny things! Do it!"
The four Divine Sword Mandalas happened to be hovering just above Godou and Luo Cuilian.
Unimpeded by the released lightning of salvation, the chariot flew at high speed, charging straight at the first mandala.
Then the seven flying holy swords shredded the mandala's pattern. Hence, one of the Divine Sword Mandalas was destroyed in this manner. After repeating this type of attack three times, the chariot carrying Godou and Luo Cuilian finished eliminating all of the lightning sources.
By this point, of the holy swords lined next to the chariot, only three remained on the right and two on the left.
The counterattack just now had consumed the power of two holy swords. Godou hoped to find a replacement weapon.
"Ama no Murakumo. Can the Storm Bringer be used?"
Godou asked about the black blade.
"Like last time, using the method to prepare the sword underground... Although it's probably difficult without Athena, it'd be great if you could do that."
'Even with that earth mother present, it is still impossible. Have you not noticed?'
"What do you mean?"
'Fly higher. You shall see.'
Listening to the divine sword in his right arm, Godou mentally ordered the chariot to rise rapidly.
The chariot soared as though gliding, instantly climbing to a higher altitude.
Soon, they were three or four hundred meters off the ground. Even so, the ride still felt extremely comfortable. There was no floating feeling that often came with traveling on planes or the like.
Next, Luo Cuilian sighed.
"To think... A trick of this sort."
Only now, for the first time, the two of them saw the full view of the city that Rama had summoned.
It was a circular city, possibly with a radius of sixteen kilometers or so. Although there were stone towers, houses and orchards scattered sparsely throughout, most of the land was empty.
In the center of the circle towered a pillar of gold. It was the tallest structure in this entire city.
Furthermore, this giant city—was flying in the air.
The ocean was below. Most likely Tokyo Bay. Looking afar, Godou could spot what appeared to be the Yokohama Bay Bridge, a road crossing the sea as well as the cityscapes of Chiba and Kisarazu in the distance.
This was the city that had suddenly appeared under Godou and everyone else.
This city most likely flew up silently from the mountains of the Bousou Peninsula, then went west to arrive above Tokyo Bay. Godou and Luo Cuilian had felt no signs at all during the fight in the city which had kept flying in a smooth ride.
Naturally, it was impossible to prepare the Storm Bringer underground. Because they were not over ground at all.
Through his knowledge of Prince Rama, Godou immediately figured out this city's prototype.
"An enormous flying ship, as big as a city... Pushpaka Vimana!"
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