Campione! - Volume 21 - Chapter 4.4

Part 4
Rama’s subordinate, Hanuman, he was a master of a unique fist martial art.

He unleashed fist and sent out kick with nimbleness like a monkey leaping around.

He would almost never stop moving and repeatedly jumped and leaped many times. It was a novel martial art that was free, fast, and daring.

In contrast, his lord was──

「Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!」

He approached Godou right from the front. When he was afar he would unleash a kick, when he was near he would charge in with a fist.

Furthermore when the distance was closed he wouldn’t hesitate to cling close and grappled the opponent like in wrestling. He would try to throw Godou or slam him on the ground.

Kick, punch, grapple, he was coming at Godou with diverse techniques that came out flowingly.

What’s more, he would use technique that would be the most effective in that situation. He wouldn’t do anything like suddenly carrying out a strange attack to take Godou by surprise.

Until the end he would attempt breaking through from the front with righteousness, nobleness, and frontal attack──.

「Shit. Ain’t that, pretty cool!」

Godou spontaneously cursed.

It was the genuine『king’s way of fighting』 compared to them who were called as devil king.

Compared to Rama’s martial arts, even something like Salvatore Doni’s sword of blank mind was heresy all the same. The only one who might be able to rival Rama’s king’s dignity might be someone like Godou’s step elder sister Luo Cuilian.

Even now Rama was unleashing a middle kick with flexibility that was like a whip.

Godou defended against it by becoming a 『beast』. The kick should gouge out his flank, but he dodged it by getting on all fours on the ground.

Without delay Rama dropped his kicking leg to right below.

It was in order to crush the back of Godou who was bending down on the ground with his heel. The attack right from above somehow missed by Godou rolling around on the ground.

And then while still lying down on the ground, Godou rotated his whole body with a twist and let out an irregular spinning kick!

The attack aimed at Rama’s lumbar vertebra.

The hero who walked the path of righteousness didn’t back down, he struck down Godou’s kicking leg with right elbow strke.

By all rights, it wouldn’t be strange even if Godou’s leg was destroyed by that strike but──

「Kuh! What a kick!」

「You yourself, what a tenacious guy!」

The elbow strike met the kick.

But the leg that was strengthened like steel by the [Camel] and was unharmed. In exchange Rama’s right arm was paralyzed by the impact and it wouldn’t be usable for a while. Although he was the great hero that used all his limbs as weapons, it should become a handicap at the very least.

Perhaps it would be time to commence soon──.

Godou who sent out a kick while still lying down slowly stood up.

However, he wasn’t standing straight. He was slightly leaning forward, his waist dropped, and the right leg that was at the front stood on its toes. It was the way of standing that was like a cat just before it leaped. From that stance Godou could step forward or back away. He also could leap aside or go down on the ground once more. It was that kind of stance.

Godou didn’t know anything like a legitimate martial art.

It was a style that was derived from his fighting spirit and instinct. Well, it would be no use even if he competed with frontal attack against Rama who overwhelmingly surpassed him in technique. It was the best to immediately rolled down on the ground when push came to shove to avoid normal offense and defense.

Seeing such Godou, Rama smiled.

「That’s truly the way of fighting of a beast, Kusanagi Godou.」

「It’s not something that cool. I’m simply desperate, that’s all.」

In contrast with Godou, Rama was standing with upright posture.

His center of gravity wasn’t leaning anywhere to front, back, left, or right. It was a way of standing that was like a pillar that was towering straight to heaven. He could move feely to every direction from that posture. A feat that was possible exactly because he had diligently polished the foundation of martial art in『standing/walking』.

Thinking back, the ruler of martial world Luo Cuilian was also a martial artist that had mastered walking technique──.

「You’re really an outrageous opponent.」

Godou smiled wryly.

His left shoulder was throbbing painfully. It was the wound from receiving the divine sword’s thrust before this.

The pain in his head was also getting worse. As expected the chance would be just once……. Godou took a deep breath with the intention of betting all his fortune in the next roll of dice.

「Could it be……you’re intending to launch an attack of all your strength?」

Godou nodded at Rama’s question.

「Something like that. Please go easy on me.」

「In other words you mean there is no need to hold back? Fufufufu, even I have come to mostly understand──the unique roundabout way of speaking of you all godslayers.」

「Don’t misunderstand as you pleases like that. My feeling is exactly like the words I’m saying.」

「Let’s just say that I believe you.」

「Hmph.」

Even during the silly talk, their fighting spirit was straining up.

And then it burst. Godou suddenly started running. Furthermore it was with godspeed. Not just the incarnation of Camel, even Raptor that he invoked before this──had been continuously in use all this time.

He had to pay compensation of hard to endure headache for using two incarnations at the same time.

However, even so Godou didn’t stop using both simultaneously.

Because he would be able to commence a surprise attack using godspeed at Rama somewhere down the line like that.

(Using it more than once──feels impossible anyway!)

But, even if he had to gamble everything he got in that one chance, there was worth to take that bet.

A full power dash of godspeed toward Rama. Godou jumped toward him and aimed at his head with midair right spinning kick that was boosted by Camel’s leg power.

Rama still couldn’t use his right arm. He wouldn’t block or intercept using his right arm. However.

「I can see it, Kusanagi Godou!」

「Of course you will!」

The user of mind’s eye saw it through. Godou also recognized it.

In fact, Rama was stepping back just a bit, trying to withdraw from the range of the godspeed kick just for a few centimeter. He would make Godou’s kicking leg cut through empty air with the slightest possible evasion. Godou wouldn’t be able to dodge the retaliation attack Rama would unleash right after that, that should be so.

Go no sen. Attack right after defense. It was a divine skill that was truly attack of defense as one. But. (TN: Go no sen, ahead of after, the phrase for counterattack in kendo)

「DAAAAAAAH!」

Godou howled, he made the godspeed midair spinning kick hit.

The top of foot where the kick’s power dwelled at the most struck Rama’s forehead.

「Guah!?」

A clean hit. Rama fell.

……Until this point, Godou had showed Rama his movement in godspeed several times.

However, rather than using his genuine highest speed, everything until now was about 5% “slower” than his top speed. It was the way of controlling the godspeed’s tempo that he learned from Black Prince Alec.

Rama who was continuously seeing the 95% got a surprise attack of 100% godspeed set against him.

It was a type of gamble whether this trick would go without a hitch or not. However, the kicking leg that was slightly faster compared to everything until now splendidly disarrayed the great hero’s mind’s eye──.

Thus, the hero Ramachandra fell back first on the ground.

There Godou straddled him. *GAN!* He swung down his right fist and hit right beside Rama’s face──in other word on the ground.

「……Your kick, it was weaker compared to before.」

Rama talked suspiciously while Godou was still bending over him. As expected from a war god, he was nonchalant even after getting hit on the temple.

「I am already defeated by your kick twice.」

「Both of them were because you were dog tired from only just getting revived, or when you lost control, so they cannot be used as reference. More importantly」

Godou spoke while looking down on Rama.

「I’m thinking……of settling this with a more refreshing result than any of the fights before this.」

Straddling the enemy──in mixed martial arts this was called as mount position.

However, Godou didn’t pin down the opponent, he also didn’t hammer in his fist at the opponent. He was only looking down on Rama.

The noble youth who was the most sagacious on earth spoke dubiously.

「What do you mean?」

「Well, I could also say it before we started fighting. But as expected, I got the hunch that you won’t be able to obediently accept 『something like this』 without battling it out first.」

「?」

「It’s something like this you know, Rama.」

Godou──lightly stroked the cheek of the King of the End.

It wasn’t a punch or choking the neck. But a mere skinship.

「Can’t you become my friend? I think that both of us can make it work out though.」

The lying down Rama, and Godou straddling him.

At the sky above the two, the black and white spheres that were like twin stars were clashing, the gravity storm of absorption and the lightning strike of salvation continued their contest of strength.

The storm that dragged in everything into the darkness star blew fiercely, the lightning of certain death radiated repeatedly.

Under such sky, the devil king and the war god stared at each other.