Campione! - Volume 18 - Chapter 9.8

Part 8 

So...  

Slightly earlier, a girl was driven out of the mansion by "dead servants."  

Her name was Aisha. As already known, she was the maid in Marquis Voban's house. After getting thrown out, she circled outside the mansion, still refusing to give up.  

She intended to sneak into the mansion again after things had cooled down.  

"Master and my dear elder sister are so mean. I can't believe they're excluding me of all people."  

While she silently wept and rubbed her hands that were stiff from the cold...  

Raging winds erupted from within the mansion—  

It was the instant when the "dear elder sister" had unleashed her authority of magical wind inside the mansion's great hall. At maximum power, it was forceful enough to blow everything away.  

The shockwave-accompanied tornado howled, rampaging madly on a plain in the London countryside.  

The stylish country house lost its shape in a matter of a minute or two. Several minutes later, the majority of the construction materials had been blown away completely without trace.  

Furthermore, the "master" was adding further to the strength of this magical wind.  

An authority of storms—later named [Sturm und Drang], a power to summon raging winds and heavy rain.  

"Huhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~~~~~~~!?"  

A sudden gust of magical and violent wind. Of course, Aisha was caught in its wake.  

After all, this wind was powerful enough to blow away a magnificent mansion. Logically speaking, a girl's body would be swept helplessly into the winter night sky.  

However, she swiftly cradled her head in her arms and sprawled on the ground. This was the best posture for reducing wind resistance.  

"Oooooh. Master and my dear elder sister have forgotten that I'm still around."  This terrifying storm must have been caused by one of the two.  

Aisha was instantly certain. Since she had not sensed the presence of Heretic Gods nearby, surely this was a godslayer's doing.  

After all, it was absolutely impossible for anyone else to do something of this sort.  

"Looks like I've no choice but to make a move..."  

Making a decision, Aisha chanted spell words fueled by forceful thoughts and feelings.  

"O beautiful maiden, I beseech you to open the terrifying doors of esoterism—"  Immediately, snowflakes were mixed into the madly blowing storm.  

Indeed. This was the reversal of the authority she had usurped from the goddess Persephone.  

Reversing the ability to bring about healing and the spring season, it was turned into the power to summon death and the chill of winter.  

The girl Aisha was currently the Queen of Winter.  

Furthermore, the cold air brought by her authority had turned the rampaging storm into a blizzard.  

In that case, there was no need to worry, because no blizzard could defeat the Queen of Winter regardless of its strength. Aisha stood up swiftly.  

"What on earth is up with them...? Oh well."  

Thanks to the entire mansion getting leveled, she instantly spotted the two of them.  

Originally on the second-floor great hall, Marquis Voban and the Chinese noblewoman (master had called her "Cult Master Luo Hao" so that was probably her name). At some point in time, the two of them had descended to the ground, controlling their respective authorities over wind.  

What surprised Aisha was that those two had unbelievably started a big fight.  

"Both of yooooooooooooooou, please don't fight anymooooooooooooore!"  

Cult Master Luo Hao and Marquis Voban were currently locked in an intense "contest of wind."  

Due to the wind's thunderous rumbling, Aisha could not reach them no matter how hard she yelled.  

However, the entire metropolis of London was going to be destroyed if their fight continued. Aisha herself knew better than anyone how powerful godslayers' authorities were.  

"In that case, I'll have to stop them."  

She told herself to try her best. Although this fact seemed to have escaped master and her dear elder sister completely, actually...  

Aisha was also a godslayer.  

Roughly nine months prior, she had slain the goddess Persephone during her travels in Greece.  

That was precisely the beginning of her adventure. After that, she had gotten caught up in an commotion along the Silk Road of the Sea, even ending up in a predicament where she was taken to Hong Kong where she also encountered a Heretic God by chance.  

A benevolent guardian god of the populace, bearing a Buddhist saint's countenance.  

It was an adventure where she had been left with no choice but to slay him. What a sorrowful memory, it felt only like yesterday for Aisha.  

Prior to going on this journey, Aisha was actually quite wealthy.  

It was the fortune left behind by her previous master. However, due to donating the majority of her money to aid refugees she met during her travels, she had returned to London utterly impoverished.  

"Truly so many sad things happened back then."  

While holding back her tears that were spilling out, she suddenly realized.  

She must invoke that authority too in order to stop the two rampaging Devil Kings.  

"When time is not yet ripe for good to result, even the benevolent shall encounter misfortune; when time is ripe for good to result, fortune shall come to pass, let good be rewarded with fortune and evil shall reap what they sow..."  

It was an authority of luck, usurped from a guardian god of the populace.  

As long as Aisha vowed to do good and was in the process of accomplishing them, it was a power that would confer upon her all sorts of good luck, large and small.  

Naturally, her vow this time was the following:  

"I must help master and my dear elder sister reconcile. Please grant humble little Aisha the aid of good fortune... Oh my?"  

The instant she chanted, something fell from the flurry of snow blowing in the air.  

Plop. A steel rod fell on the snow. Its two ends were each split into three prongs. Roughly a foot (thirty centimeters or so) in length.  

"This seems to be master's. I should return it to him later."  

The storm had probably swept it into the sky above from the mansion.  

Aisha picked up the three-pronged steel rod and placed it into her apron's pocket.  

Then at this moment—The two Devil Kings' duel was entering a climax.  

Unbelievably, Marquis Voban had transformed into a gigantic gray wolf. But 

Cult Master Luo Hao was not to be outdone. Leading a half-naked Buddha Guardian that was like a guardian deity, she was fighting the giant wolven Marquis.  

How was Aisha to stop those two?  

She could not think of any good method. In any case, she would just go ahead and try. With determination in her heart, Aisha kept running across the plain of snow to approach the two Devil Kings.  

Then she yelled in as loud as voice as she could muster.  

"Please stop fighting, master! Same for you, dear elder sister Luo Hao!"  

No response.  

As Luo Hao's avatar, the Buddha Guardian executed a fierce spinning kick.  

Kicked in the torso, the master's giant wolf form was sent flying. However, not much damage resulted. He had deliberately jumped sideways to escape the impact.  

The giant wolf landing on four legs lightly was proof of that.  

Furthermore, the giant wolf also released lightning from its jaws at the same time. In response, the Buddha Guardian raised its magical power greatly to resist the divine lightning's destructive force, dispelling it instead.  

A back and forth battle between equals. Master and the dear elder sister only had eyes for each other, not looking at anything else at all.  

"Please stop fightiiiiiiiiiing~~~~!"  

Still no response. They were not listening at all.  

"Excuse me~~~~. Both of you stop fighting nooooooooooow~~~~!'  

The third time did not work either. Aisha felt disheartened. No helping it. 

Although it did not suit her personality, she had no choice but to resort to force.  

"O queen of snakes, goddess of the sky, the earth and darkness. I beseech you to display a fearsome witch's countenance!"  

Chanting spell words, she invoked her authority as the Queen of Winter.  

Magical power and cold air, colorless and amorphous power entangled the two fighting Devil Kings, restraining them. It was like a great serpent catching prey.  

"Hmm!?"  

"What on earth is this authority!?"  

The giant wolf's body shook like a human's while Luo Hao also felt surprised.  

However, it was too late. Completely fixated on the opponent in front of their eyes, the two Devil Kings were immobilized, ensnared by the "Queen of Winter's curse."  

The gigantic gray wolf was currently captured by the equally gigantic Serpent of Ice.  

The ice serpent's long body had wrapped itself tightly around the giant wolf's neck, body and limbs, restraining its movements. Furthermore, the giant wolf, i.e. Marquis Voban, was not the only one imprisoned.  

Luo Hao's avatar, the Buddha Guardian was also suffering the same fate.  

Another Serpent of Ice had suddenly appeared to attack her.  

"Never did I expect—So this is your doing!?"  

Luo Hao-oneesama finally gazed squarely at the nearby Aisha.  

This Chinese woman had a strange habit of refusing to look straight at anyone no matter what. Even Aisha could only manage to enter a corner of her vision.  

She was probably extremely shy, Aisha concluded. However, after a convoluted series of events, the two maidens were finally able to face each other directly.  

"Actually, this is the truth, although I've hidden it till now."  

At this moment, Aisha puffed out her chest.  

"Like both of you, I am also someone with divine powers!"  

"What nonsense—are you spouting..."  

"Speaking of which, I have come across the following saying before. Excessive tragedies turn into comedies... Such a viewpoint exists in the west."  

A voice of despair escaped from the Marquis' wolven jaws. On the other hand, Onee-sama shook her head with a demeanor of sorrow.  

Both of them were giving an aura of disbelief towards the reality in their face. Still maintaining his giant wolf form, Voban continued to speak:  

"However, many incomprehensible things finally have an explanation if she is a godslayer indeed. Still."  

"I never expected you to be my peer... How impossible to accept."  

The two Devil Kings were muttering with inexplicable defiance.  

Currently, both of them were still restrained tightly by the Serpents of Ice, which did not simply bind enemies like a rope.  

The ice serpents' bodies also released low-temperature cold air, trying to freeze the two Devil Kings solid.  

The giant wolf, the Chinese beauty and her guardian deity—Their entire bodies were starting to freeze.  

Capable of freezing even gods of myths and godslayers, this was a display of the Queen of Winter's greatness and harsh mercilessness.  

At this rate, they were going to suffer hypothermia, causing necrosis all over the body. Frozen to death would be ultimate end.  

Presumably sensing such an ominous future through instinct...  

The two imprisoned godslayers exchanged inquiring glances then suddenly started to raise their magical power. The two of them carried this out virtually simultaneously.  

They intended to increase their magical power to the max in order to resist the Queen of Winter's cursed shackles.  

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh!"  

"Hahhhhhhhhhhh!"  

"U-Umm, what is with you two suddenly? If you stop fighting and reconcile, I'll dispel the restraint spell, okay!?"  

"Like anyone would do that!"  

"Seriously, I shall break free of your restraints by my own power, then send you and King Voban to the grave!"  

"You stole my line. I, Voban, shall defeat that foolish girl and Cult Master Luo Hao!"  

"H-Hold on! Please calm down, both of you~!"  

Casting their dignity as Devil Kings to the wind, they were speaking like children.  

Indeed. Ultimately, the ignorance and foolhardiness in daring to challege gods was the personality characteristic common to the race known as godslayers.  

Precisely because of that, foolish behavior was interconnected to their recklessness from those situations.  

Whether Marquis Voban or Cult Master Luo Hao, they would be considered "old age" by the standards of ordinary people. However, they were still quite young for godslayers.  

On the other hand, Aisha began to panic after seeing the two Devil Kings resist.  

She was not used to fighting. In a direct fight against two angry Devil Kings, she would probably get defeated helplessly.  

"Th-This is extremely baaaaaaad~~~~!?"  

The instant she panicked, she heard a whisper in her ear.  

(Let's tell you something good.)  

"!"  

A young male voice. Aisha jumped in surprise.  

(If say, you were to send them down—drag them below the surface, we might be able to take care of them.)  

"Below the surface... You mean underground!?"  

Aisha immediately nodded.  

Despite suddenly hearing a suggestion from a weird voice, there was no time to doubt.  

As one of those who would come to be named Campiones, Aisha also possessed a disposition that could be called foolish and reckless, of course.  

"This is surely a direction from fortune!"  

Murmuring in complete trust, she instantly chanted spell words.  

"O daughter of the goddess with beautiful hair—Hereby open the the palace of the earth."  

"An earthquake... No!?"  

"It is the power of an earth mother's... A goddess ruling over winter and death!"  

Voban cried out while Luo Hao-oneesama was astonished.  

Under the two Devil Kings' feet, a giant fissure suddenly opened up in the ground.  

It was a fissure wide enough to completely swallow Marquis Voban, who had turned into a giant wolf, and Luo Hao-oneesama, who was leading a half-naked Buddha Guardian.  

In addition, it was bottomless. This fissure led to the subterranean underworld.  The first deity Aisha had slain was the goddess Persephone.  

She was a benevolent maiden of spring as well as the wife of Hades, the god of the underworld. Whenever winter came, she would descend to the subterranean underworld to become the cruel queen of death.  

Aisha's authority possessed the trump card named [Underworld Descent] which exhibited her two-sided nature.  

Currently, the two Devil Kings who had became the sacrifices were falling into the fissure—underground. However, things did not proceed that smoothly.  

"Hmph. Petty trick!"  

"It would be wishful thinking if you believe that I lack a flying technique!"  

Voban released his giant wolf transformation while falling and summoned a storm.  

He intended to return to a human's light body and use wind to carry himself to the surface. Meanwhile, Luo Hao-oneesama was using an even simpler method.  

She unsummoned her defender, the Buddha Guardian, and prepared to ascend rapidly with a flying spell.  

—Normally speaking, just falling into a fissure of [Underworld Descent] would already be enough to cause the body to enter a state of suspended animation.  

However, the two of them had raised their magical power to the max earlier to resist the restraints of Aisha's ice serpents. Hence, that was probably why they could withstand it.  

"I-I need something to push them down."  

Thinking that, Aisha had a stroke of inspiration.  

Something suitable happened to be sitting in her apron pocket. The three-pronged rod of steel, what she had picked up by chance earlier.  

In fact, she had sensed it was an extremely dangerous tool when she picked it up.  

Following her intuition, she poured all her magical power into the steel rod and tossed it into the ground fissure with a "hey!" The three-pronged rod started to crackle with released electricity.  

This lightning of maximum power happened to strike the two Devil Kings who were trying to fly up to the ground surface. The ice serpents' cursed restraints, Underworld Descent, plus this strike of divine lightning.  

"The three-pronged vajra!?"  

"Haste!"  

The two Devil Kings were able to withstand these multiple attacks, just barely, probably because they both possessed quite a terrifying amount of magical power.  

Especially Cult Master Luo Hao. She swiftly pulled the three-pronged rod to her using Daoist arts and caught it in her hand.  

Held in Luo Hao-oneesama's hand, the rod finally stopped emitting electricity and quieted down.  

But at this moment, a fearsome attractive force was generated frm the depths of Aisha's ground fissure. It was a power of universal attraction, dragging everything to the bottom of the earth.  

Even the atmosphere above ground was getting sucked in, resulting in powerful wind flowing towards the bottom of the fissure.  " "!?" "  

Marquis Voban and Luo Hao-oneesama were both stunned.  

Helplessly imprisoned by the by attractive force, they had no choice but to fall into the earth's depths.  

Due to suffering Aisha's multiple attacks (?), they were probably too preoccupied to resist the attractive force.  

As a side note, speaking of the perpetrator—  "Oh dear? What kind of god will appear this time?"  

Aisha felt quite puzzled by a phenomenon that did not stem from her own authority.  

Furthermore, she was immediately caught by the attractive force too.  

"Kyahhhh!"  

Swallowed by the fissure she had created herself, she fell down.  

Moreover, this attractive force did not pull the three Campiones to the subterranean underworld. Instead it transported them to another world—  

It was slightly later when they realized this.