Campione! - Volume Ex - Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4 – An Unknown World……?
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The Temple of Infinite Time──.

A new sun and dark star manifested in the sky of the isolated space located beyond this world.

The diameter of both of them was around 50 or 60 meters. Although they were called a star they were the size of an asteroid. But, they were the product of the supernatural, which contained a terrific divine power.

The white star that was created by the divine sword of salvation. It was continuing to emit the lightning of devil king extermination endlessly.

The jet black star created by the authority Black Sword. It pulled everything around it with super gravitational force, sucking them in.

The supernatural suction force became wind, and then became storms that devastated the surrounding of the black star.

Godou who was controlling it was on the ground. He was in the palace of the Ten Kings of the End Mithra─right at the middle of the desert stretching outside it.

「O secret record of the dawn, grant the wisdom of goddess to me!」

Godou stabbed Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi into the sand and chanted the words of power.

……It would take a bit of time until it started to get going for real. The Black Sword had that kind of weak point at the past. But five years had passed since he obtained it. Godou had learned the secret trick of 『quickening the pace of starting up of the black star by pouring nearly double the mystical force of the usual use』.

Right now speed was more important than consumption rate! Godou didn’t hesitate and deployed the Black Sword at full force.

──The white star was unleashing lightning toward every direction of 360 degree around it. Lightning surged and attacked everywhere.

Hundreds, thousands of lightning flashed in the sky per second.

But, most of them were sucked into the spherical darkness and vanished.

The blowing storm toward the black star──the suction force that swallowed everything twisted the trajectory of the lightning, pulling them in completely.

It was a supernatural phenomenon that mocked the laws of physics.

The authority black star of the Black Sword was greedily swallowing the lightning of salvation!

『O thousand of dragons and thousand of snakes──. Right now is the time to gather, turn into a sword!』

Godou sent his thought toward Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi.

──Absorb them. Absorb all those lightning.

He fought five times against the hero Rama. He knew more than anyone just how troublesome being fired at by so many lightning of salvation. He strengthened his thought due to that desperation and Godou’s authority became even more powerful.

The lightning that was fired continuously for several tens of thousands, several hundred of millions──the majority of them were absorbed successfully.

The lightning attacks that should be randomly flying got their course forcefully twisted and most of them charged into the star of darkness.

The state of the sky where the two stars were floating was a maelstrom like that.

In contrast below──

「Oo!? It became something that caused a storm to this degree!」

Verethragna was staring in wonderment. He was also on the ground like Godou.

The two of them were separated from each other in a distance where the swords wouldn’t reach. Both of them were focusing on controlling the 『weapon』 that was manifested in the sky above.

Godou stabbed Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi into the ground, while Verethragna was holding the sword of salvation in his right hand.

The gallant youthful god smiled boldly.

「Fufufufu. What a terrifying opponent, to be able to suppress the sword of salvation!」

「My bad but, I’ve fought a guy who can handle that thing better than you. I’ve learned how to seal it a long time ago!」

Godou boasted. The storm of suction was blowing violently on the ground too. Originally it was a magical wind that would completely suck the Temple of Infinite Time into the dark star in the sky.

Yes. The lightning of salvation should be raining down toward the ground too like a heavy rain.

But the lightning struck the ground as though they only sometimes remembered to do it. Although the wind was certainly strong, it was only to the degree of “commonly strong wind”.

Due to the lightning of salvation and the magic wind of suction, originally the ground should be destroyed until its original shape was gone.

That was just how much the Black Sword was exerting its strength at the sky because it was continuing to swallow the lightning attack that should be scattered randomly as well as endlessly.

In the confrontation of trump card that was their sword, Kusanagi Godou was in advantage──not.

「Fumu. Then I guess I shall unsheathe one more sword.」

「That thing is!?」

This time it was Godou’s turn to gaze in wonderment.

Because in Verethragna’s left hand, a long sword with golden blade appeared.

The divine sword of salvation in the right hand──the great sword shining with platinum color was still staying there. In other words it was two-sword style. While his arms were the slender arms of a small young man, Verethragna was taking stance with the two swords without any difficulty.

And then the long sword in his left hand, its tip was pointed to the sky. Toward the dark star of the Black Sword.

「Fear my name. I am the one who smash through every obstacle. Those with power or those with injustice, none can possibly strike me down──. Fear my sword, Verethragna’s sword!」

The words of power were chanted solemnly.

Godou understood. The sword that would cut the god’s name as well as the god’s power. Verethragna finally unsheathed the sword of wisdom that was shining gold.

In order to seal Kusanagi Godou’s trump card the Black Sword, he took on the form of the Warrior.

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Now then──.

White star and darkness star were clashing in the sky.

At the same time, the girls supporting Kusanagi Godou were surrounded by a mountain of rubble.

The hall where the King of the End was sitting in his throne and then it got destroyed just a little while ago──they arrived at that demolished site.

Standing at the forefront of the girls was Mariya Yuri.

Although, the other three weren’t dragging her forcefully here.

She was looking around with a hazy gaze that wasn’t really looking at her front. She was wandering in the hall with footsteps like she was sleepwalking.

Yuri was muttering to herself. Most likely she was doing it unconsciously.

「The Temple of Infinite Time……Mithra……Zurvan……the god who govern over destiny and eternity Zurvan……and then that person, the madam who create the mysterious corridor──」

The girls were also user of magic and sorcery.

Even though they weren’t directly present there, using several magic they saw and heard of the exchange between the men. The conversation of Kusanagi Godou with God Mithra and War God Verethragna──.

Like that they learned several phrases.

Yuri spoke them out while wandering unsteadily.

「Looks like a vision is coming down on Yuri. I wonder if she is seeing something.」

「Or perhaps, she is looking for something……」

Erica and Liliana were whispering to each other.

They were following the princess shrine maiden who was in a state of trance from a little bit of distance. They were talking while paying meticulous care so to not break the trance of the spiritual sight user with a rude loud voice.

Such thing was a common knowledge for the like of Seishuuin Ena so she only followed without saying a single word.

She used her foot to push away pieces of rubble that looked like they would trip the unsteady Yuri. Sometimes she would gently push her to change her direction so that she wouldn’t crash on wall or the like.

She was the friend who had associated the longest with Yuri as fellow princess shrine maiden.

And then──

The spiritual sight user who was in a trance finally stopped walking.

Her hazy gaze suddenly turned clear and her back also straightened. After that Yuri let out a long sigh and breathed deeply.

Ena who was following beside her all this time immediately asked.

「And, what did you see, Yuri?」

「The scenes……of the past. The King of the End Mithra and the War God Verethragna were conversing about something here. They did something to Madam Aisha who wandered into the Temple of Infinite Time. But, there is just one thing that I couldn’t see.」

「Hee. It’s impossible even for Yuri?」

Yuri nodded at the princess shrine maiden’s reply.

「Yes. The ruler of time and eternity sent Madam Aisha to “somewhere”──I don’t know where is that destination.」

「I see.」

Liliana made a broad grin gallantly.

「Tell me the detail later on……just now, Mariya Yuri muttered a god’s name that caught my attention. The god of destiny and the ruler of eternal time Zurvan. He is a god allied with the god king of the ancient Persia Mithra. They have a tightly knit relationship.」

「So I guess,  Zurvan wanted to make Madam Aisha disappear.」

Erica said with her usual intelligence.

「Also despite hearing his name coming out several times since just now, that god hasn’t showed himself even once to us.」

「Yeah. If he won’t come out, it’ll be necessary to invite him then.」

Erica and Liliana nodded to each other.

In the hand of the red and blue knights, their favorite weapon appeared suddenly.

The slender magic sword Cuore di Lione. The magic sword with the shape of saber Il Maestro. They were the twin swords that were awarded to the two of them at their childhood after they combined their strength.

And then Liliana moved.

「They attack the people of Midian──」

She chanted the words of power of the sacred technique of massacre, the Holy Severance while holding the saber’s handle in reverse.

「Young men and even the king are all put to the sword without exception and killed. Just as commanded by the Lord to Moses!」

Blue light enveloped all over Liliana’s slender body and the blade of the magic sword. It was the proof of the ritual that could injure even god. If it was the current her than she could easily massacre even a crowd that numbered more than a hundred. Just by thrusting her finger she could cause paralyze at the heart of that number without exception and annihilated them.

The magic sword Il Maestro that was entrusted with that secret power was thrown by Liliana like throwing a javelin.

「They visit to where Moses is bringing what they snatch and plunder!」

The saber that was clad in blue light flew like a swallow and stabbed empty air.

Liliana was sensing that point with her witch’s spiritual sense. That 『someone terrifying』 was lurking there. Due to the sword throw, the empty space immediately cracked.

*Prang!*

There was the sound of something hard being smashed. The crack on empty air was blown away completely.

A mask made from stone was floating in the air. It was imitating the face of a lion and its mane, on top of that it was so big that an adult human could lie down on it.

「Everyone, please be careful!」

Yuri quickly yelled. She could see the god’s name.

「That is the god of time and eternity Zurvan!」

「……Affir, mative.」

Zurvan who had the shape of a lion mask spoke with a stiff voice.

The four maidens were taken aback. He was a god, so no matter what kind of shape he had it wouldn’t be strange that he could speak. However, the voice was just too robotic.

Zurvan continued further.

「I comment the discernment of the four of you. However it’s meaningless. What can you possibly do, against an opponent who governs time?」

Liliana whispered to Erica after receiving that overly peculiar declaration.

「……It seems, we can more or less hold communication with him.」

「……He doesn’t look like someone who we can expect to have a pleasant talk with. Come to think of it, the god’s name of Zurvan, originally it should be nothing more than a concept that means 『the flow of time』.」

「Yes. That concept then gradually got talked as a “god with personality”……」

「Is his way of talking that robotic because his personality was added later?」

「Perhaps, even the inside of the gods are very eccentric people……」

Ena was also joining the whispering. Right after that.]

「Warning. Discussion is also meaningless.」

Zurvan spoke once more.

At the same time there was also an offensive ear *KIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN!* that started to resound. The four girls not only got goosebumps on their whole body──

「Uwah. Our body is floating!?」

「No good! This is a divine punishment from Zurvan-sama!」

「Erica!」

「Leave it to me! In order to maintain the order of Rome, the senate give counsel to strip the right to command the whole armyimperium──Senate’s Last CounselSenatus Consultum Ultimum, announce!」

The instant the body of all four of them floated weightlessly.

Erica quickly chanted the words of power and constructed her most solid magic defense.

The magic sword of lion Cuore di Lione changed shape into a long steel chain and turned in circles around them with an amazing speed.

The chain surrounded the four maidens who floated in the air by several layers──the encirclement was completed in the blink of eye.

The creator Erica asked loudly.

「How is that, Zurvan-sama!?」

「Let me answer. It’s meaningless. All of you, should return to before you were given life.」

*KIiiiiiiiiiiN!*

The noise resounded even more shrilly. And then Ciore di Lione’s chain along with the four maidens──suddenly vanished.

They disappeared really simply.

It was done very easily, as though they never existed since the beginning.

The shrill noise also stopped. The mountain of rubbles that was the hall of the king just a little while ago recovered the silence like this.

The time god Zurvan was only floating without even boasting about his victory.

The eye parts of the stone mask that imitated the figure of lion were hollow holes. But the next instant, if these eyes had actual substance, surely it would be opened widely.

「……So you surpassed the expectation of Zurvan.」

*Jararararararararara!*

There was the sound of a heavy chain being dragged. The the circling chain that surrounded Erica, Yuri, Liliana, and Ena, the four of them appeared once more.

Liliana was holding up a short sword that was soaked in blood with a reverent manner.

The blood’s trace that was clinging on that short sword──no, on the blade was shining gold. In addition that light was enveloping the four who served Kusanagi Godou.

As though it was powerfully defending them.

「I conclude, that’s the divine protection from the authority of a war god.」

「Yes. The stigmata from the blood of our king Kusanagi Godou──this is its grace!」

Erica declared proudly in respond to Zurvan’s whisper.

During these five years, the Campione who they loved discovered it. The method to grant the divine protection of Youth avatar toward a group and strengthened them more effectively.

Liliana talked solemnly while continuing to lift up the short sword.

「The people who are entrusted with his blood is also granted the divine protection of Verethragna and become the army of victory. Of course, there is no way it will allow us to fight equally against your grace who is a god but……if it’s only for a very short time, we will be able to hold out somehow!」

「While we’re holding out──we can also do something like this!」

The one who rushed out when the time was ripe was, Seishuuin Ena.

The princess shrine maiden of the sword. She was undoubtedly the one who excelled the most in combat ability. Because she was able to share the divine sword Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi with Kusanagi Godou.

Right now that sword should be used in the duel against Verethragna but──

「Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi! I ask you to manifest your shadow here!」

Ama no Murakumo suddenly also appeared in the hands of the sprinting Ena.

The treasured sword that was also one of the three sacred treasures of Japan, naturally it was at least endowed with the skillfulness of being able to fight at two places simultaneously.

「Please do that thing after so long! Copy the power of Zurvan-sama!」

『Ou!』

The divine sword that possessed its own will responded strongly.

With her reliable partner in hands──Ena swung it down from the stance of hasso. (TN: A kendo stance, where you hold the sword to point up and your hands are positioned in front of your right chest)

The jet black sword hit Zurvan’s stone mask, between its eyebrows. But, the mask that imitated a lion wasn’t even scratched.

Even so Ena pushed Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi’s blade on Zurvan and hummed the spell words.

「O sword that my husband bestow to me, display the technique plundering right here!」

「Divine sword and your user. I recognize that you possess the technique of imitation. Halt it immediately. I won’t allow the invasion of my, Zurvan’s divine authority.」

「Don’t joke! It’ll be meaningless if I stop here!」

「Understood. I’ll resume removing all of you.」

Zurvan declared to erase the one who was pressing Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi on him.

The noise *KIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN!* rang out once more. It was shriller than before. It caused one to feel like the blood of their whole body would boil from the unpleasantness that was filling them.

The god attempted to erase their existence once more by the noise.

The protective chain instantly turned to dust from receiving that. Erica frowned.

「It looks like this is the limit with our strength!」

「Indeed. We also don’t know when the miraculous effect of the divine protection bestowed to us will run out. The remaining path of survival is──」

「Please hurry, Ena-san!」

「It’s fine, I’m already finished. Your majesty, quickly come here──Kusanagi Godou!」

What was protecting Ena who was rushing forward alone and the remaining three was only Verethragna’s divine protection.

But, even the golden light enveloping them was flickering intensely. It was like the fire of a candle that could die out anytime.

Seishuuin Ena laughed loudly within that upheaval and recited the name of her beloved young man.

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