Campione! - Volume 20 - Chapter 2.2

Part 2 

The ability of godspeed was hard to use because of being “too fast”! 

That troublesomeness also gave much difficulty for Alexander Gascoigne in his younger days. 

But, more than ten years after he obtained his first authority『 Black Lightning』. He had mostly brought under control any troubles like “couldn’t aim well because of being too fast”# “the burden to the body was too big”# and so on! 

After reaching such level, it became a different story. 

Godspeed――the supernatural ability to move faster than anyone changed the user to be almost unrivaled. Well, though as exception, cases like『situation where enemy was using the same ability』,『situation where enemy could see through even godspeed』, or『situation where enemy used and applied the ability they had somehow or other and successfully sealed the godspeed』could also possibly happen. 

And then, any of those cases were always occurring in a battle against gods or Campione. 

The opponent this time was Salvatore Doni, of course this was a case of『where enemy could see through even godspeed』.

「As expected Alec isn’t just fast eeh!」 

Doni was nodding with unsheathed katana in his hand.

「You really understand well that it’s meaningless only being fast in a match against us.」

「Hmph. You are always, always saying this or that with arrogant attitude.」

Normally it was the side that was flying around with lightning speed that was talking arrogantly. 

The battlefield was the “forest of bewilderment”! Inside the great labyrinth that was created by the authority of the Black Prince. 

The aforementioned white mist became the camouflage for 

Alec’s figure! On top of that Alec was constantly standing behind tree to hide his appearance. He turned on and off his godspeed many times repeatedly, and he was also changing his standing location as though he was teleporting. 

By doing those# not to mention Alec’s figure# most opponent wouldn’t even be able to confirm his general location! And then they would even forget to attack. 

He approached Doni in less than an instant using the grace of his authority. 

He turned only his arm from his elbow until fingertips into lightning and quickly tried to touch Doni. 

It was a move that would make even a raging bull that boasted a large frame died by electricity. 

However# that electrifying arm――that hand which was like a real lightning approaching with lightning speed. Doni avoided it easily without any difficulty. Not just that, his silver arm and katana was slashing back naturally.「Hahah. As expected from Alec, you are coming with a strange move huuh.」

「Chih!」

Alec jumped back the instant he sensed his attack failed and retreated from the sword range. 

But, Doni quickly walked forward with defenselessness as though he was going to visit a friend’s home# and stabbed the katana in his right hand in a straight line. 

It was a swordsmanship that captured even the aforementioned godspeed. 

Alec thought ‘In that case’# he turned his godspeed that he was repressing into full throttle. 

This was a trick where he subtly disarrayed the enemy’s mind eye so he could escape from the magic sword of sure kill. 

Until now he dared to use only ninety percent of his godspeed. From there he accelerated to full 100% and leaped backward and made the tip of the katana to stab empty air. 

He turned off his godspeed when his range from Doni became ten-odd meter. 

He turned his right wrist until the fingertips into lightning and with *bachi-!* spark of lightning attack shot out. It was a distant attack using improvised lightning bullet.

「Uwah」 

Doni completely evaded even the suddenly fired lightning bullet with an agile movement. 

Furthermore he didn’t jump back exaggeratedly and only turned his body half a step to the side. He did that because if he defended with minimum movement, he would be able to return to attack instantly. 

In fact, Doni began to run without any sound of footsteps like a cat. 

It was in order to close his distance with Alec that was far away. Alec fired lightning bullets many times to Doni who was lightly approaching. 

But, everything was completely evaded with minimum body motion.

「Whether it’s attacking or running away# half-baked resolve absolutely won’t make me able to get through this!」 

Alec murmured to himself. 

Running away quickly to a town 300 kilometer away using godspeed. 

That was the best way to neutralize Salvatore Doni’s magic sword! But# he couldn’t win with that! He had to make his own body as bait in order to win.「Hahahah. Are you running out of breath already!?」

「I’m not running out of breath# but I’m a little tired of this sword play game.」 

Finally it was time for the fall of the curtain. 

Doni who was dashing like a panther rode the momentum and slashed down his sword from overhead, in order to split apart 

Alec’s thin body vertically! He would be cut――even if he activated his godspeed once more. He had such hunch. 

Alec wasn’t a swordsman# but he sensed the specialness of this strike with animalistic instinct. 

The sword was launched in instantaneous breath for the sake of cutting even lightning. The sword wielder cleared his five senses until the limit and read the enemy’s thought and movement. The swordsmanship was sharp and short, embodying the minimum trajectory. It was because this slash was unleashed by using all those, that even godspeed could possibly be caught up――! 

It was likely unavoidable. That was why Alec chanted those words of power.

「Hear me, daughters of the endless night」 

He had lured Doni until this far by using his body as bait. 

This happening was exactly the execution site that he prepared in his barrier that was this forest of bewilderment.

「Megaera, Tisiphone, Alecto! Right now is the time to execute vengeance!」 

He chanted the name of the three goddesses in the moment Doni swung down the secret sword of godspeed defying. 

Beautiful women with black wings growing on their back, one at Alec’s left# one at his right# and one at his back# a total of three women appeared, each one of them spreading wide their black wings. 

One of those wings――very easily repelled back the slash!

「WAAAAAAAAH!?」 

Doni was greatly blown away by the impact and he crashed on the ground! Even so he didn’t let go of his katana# just as expected of him. 

The women protecting Alec were the three goddesses of vengeance, Erinyes. 

Megaera the demon. Tisiphone the avenger. Alecto the relentless time and indescribable. They handed down judgment to sinner and governed vengeance――! 

Also every single strand of hair of the ominous women was『 snake』. 

They would return all destruction – attack – beating – damage back to the perpetrator. 

They were abnormally powerful partners of Alec. However, long time of concentration was necessary when summoning them. Preparation in advance was indispensable.

「Ouch ouch ouch. Is this the trump card of Alec I heard from rumors……」

「Hou」 

Alec faintly smiled in derision. 

Around the collapsed Doni――more than a hundred European rune letters written by light were appearing, deploying not protection wall but a『letter wall』. 

The divine protection dwelling there was changing Doni’s flesh into steel. 

The moment the foolish king of sword received the vengeance of the three goddesses, he turned his body into steel.「You are really persistent, just as expected.」

「Th, the power of my technique is returned back to me exactly like it is……」 

Doni was staring at Alec even while he was lying face down on the ground like caterpillar. 

The look of his eye was powerless and haggard, perhaps because he was greatly damaged. His voice was also hoarse, his usual carefreeness decreased by seventy percent. 

「Well, something like that. Nevertheless――even though I heard that it is an arm that cut apart everything# yet it couldn’t split immortal body into two! That’s a little bit disappointing!」

「No no……that was because the moment my sword got driven off by the wing# I got the feeling it’s dangerous.」 

Doni supported his body with trembling limbs and somehow made his body stood up! It seemed that he really couldn’t stand straight.

「I made it in time……to suppress the cutting power there! Though it was just a little bit……」

「I see.」 

The thoroughly trained upper body of king of sword――! 

A rip was appearing deeply from his left shoulder until around the connecting joint of his left leg. 

Surely that was the wound that resulted from Doni’s flesh and bone got completely split. It was a wide rip where it felt like a fist of an adult could enter inside. The average person would die instantly with that wound. 

But, not a trickle of blood was dripping out from that laceration. 

It was like looking at steel plate scorched by fire and high heat of a burner, the place that was melting like mud then cooled and hardened back――an ugly trace of wound! Yes! Steel wouldn’t bleed! It would only be gouged and damaged. 

Exactly because it was an immortal steel body that Doni could move even in his condition. 

In fact, Doni was standing up with staggers. His left hand was limply dangling down, but it was still holding his katana. He was still planning to fight!

「Well, I somehow managed to endure the vengeance of those goddesses# this time it’s my turn to give payback……」

「No. That recognition is incorrect.」 

Alec waved his hand quietly. Megaera of the three goddesses that was protecting the right against Doni’s slash# Tisiphone that was protecting the left# 

Alecto that was protecting overhead. 

The ominous women of Erinyes spread their black wings and crowded on Doni like vultures. 

All the three goddesses were holding katana in their willowy hand. The three katanas were exactly the same like the product that was held by Salvatore Doni.

「Eh? What, those katanas?」

「In the first place, they are goddesses that can reflect even more powerful attack. There is no way their strength is used up already just by repelling back the might of a slash. They still have leeway to easily act a performance――of the duplication of your sword, and also stealing your technique while they are at it.」 

The goddess Alecto attacked from the sky right after Alec said that. 

An overhead slash that Doni unleashed just now――a swordsmanship that really resembled that sword technique in full strength assaulted the original user. 

Doni immediately lifted his left hand and protected his head. 

「Guah!?」 

*GAKIN@* Metallic sound resounded along with Doni’s scream that sounded like frog. 

He repelled the katana with his left wrist that was turned into steel. No. He was unable to repel it, the blade was digging until halfway his arm. But even with that there was no bleeding, as expected from the immortal steel body. 

Alec nodded from seeing the offense and defense just now. 

Doni was doggedly surviving, but he was still unable to move adequately. 

He had enough chance of victory. Alecto raised her katana overhead once more in order to strike with a slash of full power again. 

Megaera and Tisiphone were also springing up toward the extraordinary King of Sword!

「Uwah!?」 

Perhaps it should be called as desperate strength in the face of death. Doni was rolling around on the ground and somehow slipped out from the three demonesses’ encirclement! 「 Uuuuuh」That groan was surely from the agony of his wound. 

It was an animalistic movement that was throwing to the wind the appearance of a sword saint.

「As expected it seem they cannot steal the skill of a master exactly as it is huh. Perhaps the sword art of the goddesses are just seventy percent of yours. I guess they are a lacking opponent, but there are three of them. Forgive their lacking strength in deference to that.」

「Shiit-, prattling coolly like that」

In contrast with Alec’s murmur# Doni who was still collapsing on the ground roared.「Is it no good unless I do the troublesome thing again!」

「!?」 

Alec was shocked! The lying down Doni didn’t even try to stand up and touched the ground of Okutama mountains with his『 shining silver right arm』. 

Radiance with the same color like the right arm was spreading like ripple from the touched point and dyed the ground silver. 

As the result, the 360 degree surrounding of Doni was shining brilliantly――on top of that everything that existed was instantly cut into two with a single stroke. 

The trees of mountain forest growing from the ground that was shining silver were roughly several hundred. The three goddesses, Megaera, Tisiphone, Alecto. All those were instantly cut apart vertically. From the top of the tree until the root# from the top of the head until the groin――! 

It was the miracle that was caused by the invisible sword Doni wielded. 

Furthermore, the silver radiance spreading on the ground reached until below Alec!

「Kuh!」 

Alec quickly heightened his magic power. 

It was the essential when defending against technique and divine power from enemy. It bore fruit and the Black Prince Alec weathered the simultaneous slashes that came from just a single silver wave. 

The spreading radiance on the ground that originated from Doni’s right arm immediately settled.

「Fuuuuu」 

Doni stood up while letting out a deep sigh. 

‘This guy――!’ Alec was gazing in wonderment! Changing everything that was touched into a magic sword of tremendous might! That was Doni’s authority『Silver Arm the Ripper』. 

Not only tool like sword or stick, even the ground could be changed into bladed tool. 

If this kind of change of application was possible, then the way to use this authority should widen without limit. Like that this authority shouldn’t be getting the evaluation that its worth was only as sword, at all. 

Doni then said something like this with an expression that looked like he was fed up from the bottom of his heart.

「Aa―! Something like this# is really troublesome for me# if possible I don’t want to use it y’know!」

「Don’t say something stupid! Surely using it like what you did just now will save effort in various things more.」

「No, Andrea also said something like that. But for me swinging around a sword a thousand times is completely easier than doing that.」

「It seem that a man like you have the curse of muscle encroaching even until your brain……」 

Alec suddenly went ‘hah’ right after he murmured that! 

He was sensing danger approaching the forest of bewilderment――the barrier of great labyrinth! It was one of the super senses that he could enjoy as the master of the labyrinth when he was inside it. 

Alec suddenly turned on his godspeed. 

It wasn’t for battle strategy# but in order to dash away from this place. 

He sprinted away without even giving a glance at Doni and began to climb down the mountain in full speed. Well, this was within his expectation. He had been anticipating that sooner or later the old people would begin their retribution……!

「!? Where are you going, Alec!?」 

Doni was yelling dumbfounded with this sudden withdrawal.