Campione! - Volume 20 - Chapter 1.2

Part 2 

Kumotori Mountain of Okutama region――! 

The forest around the area near the summit only had needle-leaved tree of pine family. 

The trees seemed to be Veitch’s silver fir or Tsuga diversifolia! Doni wasn’t that knowledgeable with plant# but he knew with certainty that they were tree variety that wasn’t really seen much at Europe. 

However, broadleaf tree was increasing the more he went down! They didn’t have leaf at all because of the winter# but there were a lot of familiar trees that were similar with trees in Europe. Trees like Siebold’s beech# oak# or evergreen oak! 

Doni was starting the duel inside that mountain forest that seemed vaguely nostalgic. 

However# it wasn’t a straightforward battle of slashing at each other with sword.

「Guess the terrain advantage is with the gramps eh……」 

He was walking around in the forest of winter alone, stepping forward smoothly on the snow. 

The demonic wolf that was the manifestation of Marquis Voban――Doni was wandering since a little bit ago where he was pursued by a beast that he couldn’t see the figure of! 

It was inside the mountain at night. The light source was only the moon and stars’ twinkling at the sky! But# it wasn’t really a problem! The amount of light was good enough for Doni with his effective night vision, and above all――he didn’t rely on his eyes! Right now he was sharpening his hearing and tactile sense. 

It was for the sake of sensing the faint sound and the vibration of the air. 

The marquis should be looking for chance while approaching 

Doni……

「He came!」 

*shuu-* There was a presence of something moving out with supple motion. 

At that moment# Doni’s body was moving unconsciously! Just like a leaf floating on water stream# Doni’s body lightly moved half a meter to the left. 

Right after that# from the shadow of the nearby tree――the large body of a grey wolf leaped out. 

GAaaaaAAAAA-! 

A roar burst from the jaw that could crunch even steel easily. 

Originally Doni should be pressed down by the robust wolf and had a part of his body somewhere cruelly bitten apart. Doni avoided that with light motion of a floating leaf and turned into counter attack with a single diagonal slash from below that lightly grazed the opponent. 

That was exactly the sword of empty mind. His hand and body manipulated the sword before his mind could even think. 

The emerald green eyes of the demon wolf shined mysteriously due to the grazing slash. It was the evil eye that could change tens of thousands of people into salt altogether.

「――@?」 

In that moment# although it was just for an instant# Doni’s entire body stiffened. 

As the result the reverse diagonal slash of the sword of empty mind slightly decelerated and Doni’s swordsmanship also wavered. Due to that the demonic wolf rushed through Doni’s front before the counterattacking blade could reach it.

「So there is that kind of way to use that……」 

Until the end the evil eye was an authority that only affected 

“normal living thing”! 

It had no power to the degree that could turn Campione’s body into salt. However it could become an underhanded trick to dull the movement just for an instant――! 

Exactly because this was an intense offense and defense at the very limit that it became truly useful.

「As expected gramps Voban doesn’t make any blunder!」 

GAaaaaaaAAAAAAAA-! 

This time the wolf roared and attacked fiercely toward the admiring Doni. 

The demonic wolf was making the forest as cover while leaping at Doni from the right, from the left, and sometimes from above the branch of broadleaf tree with『GAaaAA-!』roar. 

The demonic wolf carried out hit and run, rushing around inside the forest with elusive movement.

「Whoops oops oops.」 

Doni was continuously dodging that. 

With his movement――the movement of a leaf floating on water stream, he drifted lightly here and there. Each time he dodged, he also showered a counterattack slash back. 

A chopping slash right from the front to the wolf. 

Slash that attempted to make round slice at the wolf’s torso from the side. 

Other attack like one hand thrust to skewer the windpipe of the wolf. But, the wolf also moved its body with reflex of wild beast, furthermore it also fully used the evil eye and continuously endured one attack after another――@

「Then, what about this.」 

GAaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAA-! 

Doni changed his flesh into steel. If it was with this then even the curse of evil eye would be repelled. 

Seeing that the demonic wolf = Marquis Voban howled loudly――right after that! From the sky『DooOOOOOON-!』a streak of lightning fell.

「WAAAAAAH!?」 

The body that was turned into steel along with Doni faltered after getting showered by lightning impact. 

Although his immortal body also possessed strong resistance against lightning# but it couldn’t fully neutralize the impact! 

The energy of the lightning greatly blown him away. 

It appeared that the marquis was firmly calling lightning cloud overhead while he was running around the forest.

「You got me! It won’t be this troublesome if it’s just against wolf.」

「You yourself, as always you are swinging around a piece of stick skillfully. Although you got no other ability than that.」 

The wolf spit out its words with Voban’s voice when Doni stood up quickly. 

By the way even for a martial art master, a first class melee fighter would find it difficult to win against wild beast in hand¬to-hand combat. Speed, power, physical ability between the two sides were just too different. It would be impossible without enough equipment and preparation beforehand. 

But# of course a swordsman at Salvatore Doni’s level was an exception. 

Regardless of that, he had this much trouble against Marquis Voban who transformed into demonic wolf. It could even be said that the battle was mostly even.

「Well# but it’s also worth doing because it’s exactly like this!」

「Worth doing――I’ll agree to that point! But as for me I want to try a new entertainment soon.」 

The grey colored wolf suddenly returned to a human form. 

Marquis Voban’s face grinned widely# he was gazing at Doni haughtily.

「I thought that I’ll accompany you in your style for a brief entertainment and so I tried playing along for a while. But I guess this is enough already! Now let’s do this in my way!」

「Ee―h」

「This is a match against a man whose specialty is a piece of stick! I don’t even have any duty to intentionally do it in a position where your stick can reach don’t you think!」 

Suddenly a silhouette appeared behind the derisive Marquis Voban. 

It was a witch riding a broom. Her body was wrapped with nostalgic ancient style black robe, and her head was even wearing wide brimmed hat. Of course she was floating in air along with her broom. 

And then――the black robed witch looked completely dried up! 

She was a mummy. 

It was only natural that she looked old fashioned. Surely this witch was a victim that was murdered by Marquis Voban more than a century ago.

「So you are going to come at me like that.」 

Doni lamented! Living people who fell into the marquis’s hand was resurrected as『Dead Servant』and served the devil king as loyal slave. 

The dead witch quickly waved her hand. 

The body of Marquis Voban was tinged with sparkling light and he floated in the sky. 

It was like in the fairy-tale of Peter Pan. The children who got the magic powder put on them by Tinker Bell would be able to freely fly in the sky. 

In fact, the marquis was rising to the sky together with the dead witch――!

「Don’t worry! I’ll at least leave an opponent for you to play with for the time being.」

「They aren’t really fun fellows though.」 

From inside the darkness, one, and then one more『Dead Servant』were coming out. 

Middle age European knight equipped with plate armor. Fencer with rapier hanging on his waist and showy clothes, like a noble from Renaissance period. A warrior with Bedouin black clothes and scimitar! A rifleman of French’s revolution even smoothly drawing out his saber. 

The man with full armor and helmet added with wing decoration on his back was holding a war axe, perhaps he was a Poland winged knight. A soldier with camouflaged clothes and face painted black had a Gurkha knife in his hand……! 

Everyone was living dead equipped with sword type weapon. 

Surely they were all famous swordsman when they were still living. It could be easily guessed from the way they walked and the way their body moved! However# it didn’t seem that there was even a single one among them that was at the level of a master like Doni. 

These fellows――brandished their respective sword and assaulted! 

Doni was evading around with his floating leaf movement, his body was drifting smoothly here and there away from the many slashes unleashed by the living dead one after another while he was returning back counterattack mercilessly.

「O sword of Nuada, grant strength to me!」 

His whole right arm, from the shoulder joint until his fingertips changed into a『silver arm』. The weapon swung by this arm became a magic sword that bisected all creation on the earth. 

Each time Doni’s katana flashed# a dead servant was defeated one by one. 

However, each time that happened new living dead arrived from behind the darkness and participated at the besieging battle that surrounded the silver armed swordsman――! 

He didn’t think that a battle of one against many was unfair or anything, but a battle against dead opponent was unsatisfying.

「I don’t like the way of thinking that it’s fine to just push with number.」

「Hahahaha! I’m the opposite! I also like trampling alone an overwhelming number of enemy, or the opposite――tormenting small number to death with superior number is also my favorite. It can be said that both are styles of 

Voban’s preference@」 

From the sky it wasn’t just Voban’s loud laughter that came down, but even lightning strike also came down. 

*DOoooN! DOoooN! DOoooN! DOoooN!* 

It wasn’t just one or two. But a consecutive attack, furthermore it kept coming without gap. Each time one lightning fell, the ground shook from the impact and snow and mud burst. 

Trees that were standing close together were scattered and blazing flame was starting to appear. 

Even the Dead Servants were also beaten up by their master’s lightning strike and became scorched black.

「No other way if it’s like this!」

『Silver Arm』that cut apart everything was exactly his foremost authority. 

That was one of the few fixations Salvatore Doni had. 

He wanted to directly cut apart into two using the sword in his hand no matter what it was. To say further, a large factor of that was also because he didn’t have any other authority that could be used to attack. 

No matter what kind of enemy he faced, even if he was facing against UFO, in any case he would fight only with sword. 

However, in the case that it was a situation where it was physically impossible to do that――「This isn’t my preference but# perhaps I’ll do various thing.」 

Right after Doni whispered that, he went「Hm?」while tilting his head. 

White mist was enshrouding inside the forest. It was really thick! The thickness was to the degree that he couldn’t see thirty centimeter ahead of him, a pure white mist. 

He had never heard of this, but was this also an authority of Marquis Voban?

「U# uu―n……」

「Are you awake, Madam Aisha!?」

「Hya, hyes. Syomehow……」 

Madam Aisha was groaning on Erica’s back! 

The Italian girl dashing on the mountain path stopped her legs in panic and gently put down the lady that she was carrying on her back down on the ground. She was just climbing down the steep mountain path with a speed equal with a car using『leap magic』that was the same type of qing gong that was used by Lu Yinghua and his kind. 

Liliana who was running parallel with Erica using the same magic also arrived soon at their side and asked.

「Is there……anything strange with your body condition?」

「Eerr# not really――my? My my?」

The madam was about to say that there was nothing strange, but suddenly she faltered. She tilted her head in wonder and hesitated. It seemed that she felt some kind of discomfort. 

It was just when they were about to ask her state in detail.「Mist?」 

Liliana frowned with a suspicious look. Thick mist came out without them noticing and they couldn’t even see the face of the companion before their eyes due to it.

「This give me bad premonition……」 

Liliana who was a witch while also a Templar knight whispered. That was undoubtedly a revelation brought about to her by her spiritual sight power.

「Hmm……」 

Dejanstahl Voban whispered. 

He was rising in the sky along with the dead witch that applied the magic on him. 

Below, a winter mountain forest without a single leaf was spreading. Inside that forest were Doni who was pursued by dead swordsman army having rain of thunder raining down on him. 

While that was happening, Voban was about to drop great lightning strike with his whole might, but just when he was about to do that――

「Something strange came out huh.」

White thick mist gushed out which hid the mountain forest below from his sight. 

Voban was a man that called storm and controlled wind, rain, and thunder. However, that weather manipulation ability didn’t include even the creation of mist.

「Is this that idiot’s authority?」 

Voban noticed after he whispered that. The scent lurking inside the air. That scent which was caught by the wolf’s sense of smell――there was no doubt!「I see# so this is that guy’s work!」 

It seemed that the climax of devil king civil war was still being in a state of flux. Sensing that, the old demon wolf king shrugged.

「Perhaps it’s better to reduce those guys to ash along with this mountain.」 

Obliterating the surface to nothing using flame of judgment falling from the sky――! 

Actually even such authority existed inside the prided authorities of Marquis Voban. 

However, it was an authority to burn to nothing the enemy territory or the battlefield. Because it would only leave vast scorched field in the end, he rarely used it. The point where it consumed remarkable amount of magic power also made it unsuited for a prolonged battle royal. 

Besides above all else.

「The fired flame is just too lukewarm for finishing. Even if the absurdly obstinate godslayers are swallowed by sea of flame, just how many will die from that……」

He guessed that he should observe quietly instead for now. The greatest idiot of the seven devil kings was stuck in the trap that was prepared by that sham. The battle of Kusanagi Godou and Sect Founder Luo Hao was also continuing. 

Voban made an eye signal at the dead witch.

「You stay here, report the detail to me.」 

He would hide himself and rested for a while. His instruction was for that purpose.