Part 2
Prince Rama's royal ship that looked like a giant city—Pushpaka Vimana.
In fact, the ship did have towers and houses of stone erected all over the place. Perhaps a large number of people actually lived there and it was possible the ship served the functions of a city.
Godou ordered his vimana sky chariot to charge towards this city.
In addition, the two heroes, Perseus and Great Sage Equaling Heaven Sun Wukong, were pursuing right behind him—
"You cannot escape my arrows even if you flee to this place!" Perseus yelled out, positively thrilled.
Perhaps he was excited for the chance to fight a godslayer again.
He kept firing arrows from atop his winged horse. Furthermore, he was not shooting one arrow at a time. Holding four arrows between five fingers, he placed them all on the bowstring at once to fire them simultaneously.
Literally, he kept repeating this type of attack continuously.
Despite being attacked by just one archer, Godou was confronted by a barrage of attacks akin to a rain of bullets.
Those arrows would probably have pierced him immediately were it not for the vimana's flying capabilities. Moreover, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven was quietly waiting by Perseus side, sitting on his iridescent cloud.
"Kukukuku. It's time for the main event to start."
Laughing with glee, the Great Sage stared intently at Godou's back while he was fleeing this way and that.
Without a doubt. The Great Sage was choosing his opportunity to charge with divine speed. Such rare caution coming from him was probably because he knew that Godou was likewise a user of divine speed as well. If he were to attack recklesssly, it would be futile if Godou escaped using the same divine speed.
Judging from this, the Handsome Monkey King truly lived up to his reputation as a natural expert in fighting.
"...Just as I thought, I can't keep running away anymore."
Godou muttered. The 100m lead in the beginning had shrunk by more than half now. There was no way to survive unless he counterattacked.
Also, his purpose in coming here was indeed for the sake of striking back.
"Please. Obey my orders...!"
Taking a gamble on Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi's ability to replicate Prince Rama's authority, Godou called out.
Namely, the power to control vimanas. However, his target was not the sky chariot he was currently riding. Instead, it was the supreme mode of transport, much more massive and powerful—Pushpaka Vimana.
Then Godou sensed it.
Although it did not extend to the entire craft, he was still able to freely control part of this massive ship that was like a city!
"Do it! Take out those guys!"
Godou immediately yelled out.
He had already found out through his knowledge of Prince Rama.
He knew what armaments the entire vimana was equipped with. The only reason why the ship's master had not used them was presumably because his own weapon was far more powerful.
In any case, regarding the orders to attack, part of Pushpaka Vimana responded.
The ship was a perfect circle with a diameter of sixteen kilometers. Right now, Godou had flown to one end, the northeastern block had come under Kusanagi Godou's control.
In terms of area, it was roughly one eighth of the total.
Built in the center of the northeastern block was the tallest tower in the area.
A tower of chalk—Roughly forty or fifty meters in height. The entire tower suddenly glowed blue-white and even emitted exploding sparks.
" "What!?" "
The instant when Perseus and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven were taken by surprise...
Blue-white lightning was released from the pinnacle of the tower of chalk, descending upon the two heroes who were pursuing Godou. Struck directly by this lightning, they were thrown from their respective mounts—the winged horse and the iridescent cloud.
"Hey, that's playing dirty!"
"A man who still cares not for elegance!"
The Great Sage cursed while Perseus cried out with inexplicable excitement.
Living true to their names as heroes of steel, they remained lively as ever even after a direct hit from lightning. However, Godou did not try to check out their condition. If he had that kind of leisure, even for a second, he should use it on escaping.
After that, the tower of chalk continued to release lightning.
Naturally, the goal was to pin down the two heroes, to prevent them from chasing after Kusanagi Godou.
With Pushpaka Vimana's support, Godou was able to shake the two heroes off his trail again. Then he discovered a plaza in the shape of a diamond.
Seen through Japanese sensibilities, this plaza somewhat resembled a baseball field in shape and size.
Except for the monastery-like building sitting in the center of the plaza. Ordering his chariot vimana to land, Godou descended on the surface of stone tiles.
"Let's find a way to end things here..."
The four flying holy swords following the vimana also came to his side, stabbing into the ground. However, there was more to do. Godou called out to Ama no Murakumo in his right arm.
"Ama no Murakumo, that past move—Start it now!"
'Hmm. One would call this a last stand.'
After giving a courageous reply, a black sphere of darkness suddenly manifested over Godou's head.
Ten-odd meters in diameter, it was hovering in midair. Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi had finally activated the [Storm Bringer]. Of course, substantial time was still needed to raise its power to critical point.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes, four minutes—Godou waited silently.
Focusing his mind, he poured all of his magic power into Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi in order to raise the black blade's power to its maximum in the shortest time possible. During this process, he could still hear lightning descending in the distance.
The tower of chalk continued to attack Perseus and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.
The two heroes were probably enduring the attacks, although Godou did not believe that attacks of this level could defeat them... The moment this thought crossed his mind, there was a sudden exploding sound.
Godou turned his gaze to see an explosion at the pinnacle of the tower of chalk.
The two heroes had evidently destroyed the meddlesome tower.
Godou clicked his tongue. The [Storm Bringer] had not reached critical point yet. Its power had reached at most half or so.
"Your petty trick has outlived its usefulness."
"Oh well, I am hoping to see what other tricks you will play in your futile struggle."
Then the two heroes' voices came from behind.
Perseus and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven had finally arrived at the diamondshaped plaza. They no longer had their mounts. Instead, they had arrived on foot.
Godou took a glance at the black star overhead.
Gwoon. Gwoon. Gwoon. Making unique noises, the giant sphere rotated with commensurate speed. However, it still needed to spin faster to reach critical point.
Godou sighed in a slightly exaggerated manner. Then immediately, he swiftly issued thoughts to attack.
"All enemies shall tremble before me. I am the guardian of the righteous!" The instant he chanted spell words, the golden blades flew out.
The four holy swords of Verethragna, embedded upright in the ground next to Godou—two of them suddenly flew ferociously into the air, attacking Perseus and the Great Sage respectively.
But against this surprise attack—
"Nwoh!?"
"Hmm!"
The Great Sage instantly struck the holy sword away using his Ruyi Staff. Tossing his bow away, Perseus forcefully swung the curved blade he had summoned into his right hand, deflecting the holy sword.
Clang, clang, with the sound of two metallic impacts, the two holy swords of gold were sent flying elsewhere.
Godou frowned. He had two remaining swords of Verethragna, but although they were blades of ultimate destruction against Prince Rama, they did not work against the two heroes. Just now, he had tried attacking by using them as purely physical blades, but the heroes had defended easily.
"In that case, there's only one remaining weapon..."
Gwoon gwoon gwoon gwoon gwoon—
The black star spinning overhead had increased slightly in its rotation speed.
Taking in the magic power pouring from Godou and Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, it was increasing in power at a slightly faster rate than before.
Godou looked up with a resolute expression and pointed Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi's blade at the two heroes.
Confronted with this reckless challenge, Perseus and the Great Sage were just about to step forward. In that very instant...
"Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword!"[8]
"They warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males! And they slew the kings of Midian!"[9]
The spell words of smiting were suddenly chanted. Then clad in red and blue light respectively, the two Great Knights charged at full might, wielding a giant blade each—They sliced through the two heroes in their path.
Erica Blandelli had slashed the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, in the side of his abdomen.
Liliana Kranjcar had embedded her blade into the chest of the hero Perseus, also known as Mithras.
The two girls were wielding giant trenchant blades as tall as Godou's height— Golden blades, Verethragna's holy swords.
Sitting in the center of the plaza, which served as the battle field, was a lone building reminiscent of a monastery—
The two knights had been hiding in the building's shadows. While the two heroes were fixated on Godou, they had charged out in that instant, picking up the holy swords on the ground to use as weapons. Indeed, these were the two holy swords that the two heroes had previously deflected using their own weapons, striking them to the ground.
"W-What?"
"How could that kind of blade harm us...?"
However, the two sliced heroes were overcome with disbelief. As heroes of steel with resilient bodies, they could not possibly die from one or two cuts, even if they were slashes executed by Paladins empowered by the spell words of divine slaughter. Even if the weapons used were the holy swords of Verethragna, the same applied, because they were weapons that had been strengthened in particular to defeat the hero named Rama, thus posing no threat to them—At least, that was what they believed to be the case.
But the two heroes suddenly showed looks of great alarm.
Rather than glaring at Erica and Liliana who had performed the slashes, their target was Godou.
They had realized. They had figured out the identity of the swords that had sliced through them, as well as the trap that Kusanagi Godou had set to make maximum use of them.
"Sorry, guys."
Godou muttered quietly.
"That's the same trick Verethragna used before. Switching the target for the sword's spell words in the middle of battle. Just now, I've already converted them into swords for slicing Perseus and Great Sage Equaling Heaven Sun Wukong."
"Gah—! It was this kind of trap after all!?"
"Your Highness the Monkey, we will only end up annihilated at this rate. Let us seek refuge and return to the Arrowhead's Discus for now!"
The holy swords were far more damaging than the spell words in the past.
Furthermore, the two heroes were resurrected through the power of the
Arrowhead's Discus. Now that the three heroes were manifesting at the same time, their individual powers were inferior compared to before. Naturally, this included their life force as well.
The attacks just now had inflicted critical injuries.
In fact, a large volume of divine power was already leaking out from their wounds.
Realizing their lives were in danger, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and Perseus suddenly vanished. This was for returning to the medallion held by Rama, to heal their wounds for now—
"I'm saved. If it weren't for your help, Mariya, I wouldn't have been able to repel those two guys so quickly. You really saved my life." (Not at all. This is precisely why I chose to stay on this side.)
Whispers were reaching Godou's ear.
It was the voice of Mariya Yuri, the Hime-Miko who had stayed behind in the Netherworld alone. The defeat of Perseus and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven had been accomplished under her direction.
Using the spirit power of psychic sensing, Yuri had been paying attention to the situation in the mundane world the whole time.
Furthermore, as soon as she saw the three heroes manifest through the
Arrowhead's Discus, she had departed to summon knowledge about Perseus, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and Lancelot.
Just by being in the Netherworld, she was able to control the power of spirit vision freely. This was precisely the benefit enjoyed.
Then using psychic sensing to connect to Godou's mind, she was able to transmit the knowledge obtained through spirit vision—
A simple mechanism once explained clearly in this manner. The only remaining issue of concern was that Godou was still facing two opponents on his own. A most unfavorable situation. However, Yuri had also informed him that his companions had boarded Pushpaka Vimana using Liliana's flight magic.
"Eh, hold on a sec."
Godou suddenly felt intrigued.
"Isn't it quite troublesome trying to cast magic on Campiones? But I'm hearing your voice so easily this time, Mariya?"
Oral intake was necessary when human magi needed to cast magic on a Campione—
Godou recalled this rule. Yuri replied in a strangely quiet voice.
(Oh... Regarding that... Not too long ago, we were in the Netherworld, engaged in that—that ritual, were we not?)
Rather than a ritual, it would be better to describe that scene as mutual contact of intimacy.
Godou could not help but go red in the face and answer "Y-Yeah." Due to the connection through psychic sensing, Godou was certain that Yuri was also huddling in embarrassment back on the Netherworld side.
(Back then... Perhaps due to the many instances of intimate contact with you, Godou-san, or rather, receiving love and affection, i-in any case, due to that ritual, a connection was established between me and you, Godou-san.)
"I-I see now!"
It looked like Yuri had already started considering back then whether to stay in the Netherworld. It was also possible that her spirit vision powers as a HimeMiko had told her she ought to do that. Or perhaps it was a feeling of "somehow, this must be done."
(G-Godou-san. You must keep this a secret from Erica-san and Liliana-san, please.)
"Of course!"
His comrades happened to be walking this way. Erica Blandelli and Liliana
Kranjcar, victorious in accomplishing their task. They were also accompanied by Seishuuin Ena who had changed from her miko outfit back to her school uniform for ease of movement.
"Good work, everyone. I'm always relying on your efforts."
"No helping it. We do this voluntarily."
"This is also part of our responsibilities, so please do not mind."
Answering nonchalantly despite having just undertaken a major accomplishment, Erica was living up to her usual style. On the other hand, Liliana adhered strictly to her knightly duties, maintaining a calm attitude throughout.
Standing like walls on Godou's left and right respectively were the red and blue knights. Truly reliable.
"I'm really sorry for giving you boring work, Seishuuin."
"Can't be helped. After all, Ena is the only one who can do this."
The Hime-Miko of the Sword replied cheerfully to Godou's apology.
The two of them looked up into the sky. Manifesting overhead was the black star—The mystic technique, the [Storm Bringer], was successfully raising its power towards critical point. Currently, output was roughly 65%.
The rate of increase was clearly faster than before.
This was due to Ena delivering magic power for support as the partner of Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, which was in charge of the mystic technique.
(A-Also.)
Still contributing inconspicuously, the Hime-Miko suddenly lowered her voice. (After all, having engaged with Your Majesty in the Netherworld... in such pleasure, it'd be punishably unfair if Ena didn't let Erica-san and Liliana-san have a chance to take credit—)
Ena whispered softly in a moment of shyness.
She was probably afraid of letting the two knights know. Still unused to matters of relationships between the genders, she had made slight progress.
Finding Ena adorable the way she was acting now, Godou felt his heart begin to pound. He must change the subject before someone noticed.
"S-Say, I wonder how are things going on Nee-san's side?"
The sworn elder sister, Luo Cuilian, was facing the formidable Hanuman, a war god even more challenging than the two heroes—
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