Chapter 1 - Wandering Monk Sun L J 5 Havoc in theHoly SanctumPart 1The sun had already set, and the Nikkou Toushouguu^ was welcomingthe arrival of night.The Okusha inner shrine for venerating the divine monarch Tokugawaleyasu^ was around 200m away from the worship and main halls.The corner of Okusha had been transformed into a bare mountain top, withall the lush cedar trees originally surrounding the shrine completely gone.A young girl was in the sky, looking down upon the bare mountain.She was wearing a miko outfit with a white garment and a red hakama^while standing on a golden cloud hovering in the air.Her face obscured by a mask like a monkey"s visage, she was holding theRuyi Jingu Bang^ in her hands. This una.s.suming-looking iron staff wasthe legendary weapon with innumerable victories under its name."Yes, it looks like I"ll need to change these clothes to something moreappropriate to my stature."The girl — no, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, who hadstolen Mariya Hikari"s body, spoke thus.The miko outfit transformed into a yellow costume decorated with intricateblack and green embroidery. Its sleeves reached down to the ankles, twovery long open slits were on the sides of the outfit, and red pants wereworn underneath.It was the costume known as "Kao"^ in Beijing opera.The monkey mask was also moved to the side, revealing Hikari"s face andthe golden-gaze fiery-eyes — namely, eyeb.a.l.l.s of red and pupils of gold."Very well, this works for now. Everyone, thank you for your patience!"The people looking up to watch this transformation were the five humansKusanagi G.o.dou, Cult Leader Luo Hao, Erica Blandelli, Liliana Kranjcarand Lu Yinghua."Finishing off two G.o.dslayers at the same time would be rather tricky... No,in a certain sense, this is a perfect opportunity. Hohoho, even heavenlyfate is on my side this once."The Great Sage Equaling Heaven spoke contradictory words, and then hisdivine power began to expand greatly.What was with this power!? G.o.dou was very surprised. The powerdisplayed here far surpa.s.sed every deity he had encountered so far —Melqart, Athena, Perseus."Perhaps this snake might come in handy after all, so let me take her withme."Lying on the bare mountain top was the beautiful young girl with woundsall over her body. Her name was something like Asherah.The Great Sage on the golden cloud extended his Ruyi Staff and lightlypoked the witch on the ground. In an instant, Asherah"s body disappearedas if he had performed a magic trick."Appearances aside, you have at least recovered the nature of [Steel]...Very well, Great Sage! Now is the time for a decisive end to things!"Luo Hao yelled with a high-pitched voice at the Great Sage, who hadrestored his Ruyi Staff to its original length.However, her body was still shaking and it looked like her injuries had yetto recover.In order to save Hikari, G.o.dou also intended to challenge the Great Sage,but his body couldn"t move. This was the after effect of using the [Raptor]incarnation, which currently paralyzed his body and made his heart sufferintense pain."G.o.dou, if you were to challenge him in your current condition, I believe itwould be a very tough battle.""Yes, even though I understand very well your wish to retrieve MariyaHikari"s body, you and Her Eminence Luo Hao both need to rest andrecover your powers. We would do well to retreat for now."From his side, Erica gave a warning and Liliana also made a suggestion toG.o.dou.G.o.dou agreed. However, the question was whether the Great Sage wouldlet him leave."So let us end the intertwining of our fates which started long ago. Thoughthere are two of you here, I will take care of you both together."Just as suspected, the Great Sage was smiling with mockery using Hikari"sface, and even spoke with her voice.Standing on the golden cloud, he was coldly overlooking everything acrossthe land. However, his eyes only saw Luo Hao and Kusanagi G.o.dou astargets while completely ignoring all others."The earth"s condition is receptive devotion / Thus the superior man whohas breadth of character / Carries the outer world. Kun^ is the nature ofearth!"Forming mudra^ with one hand, the Great Sage began to chant a mantra.The change suddenly took effect. Petrification. The ground of the nowbarren mountain of the Nikkou Toushouguu"s Okusha inner shrine wascompletely changed into solid rock, bleached white as if snow had coveredthe land —G.o.dou and the rest were standing on ground which turned into grey stonewithin the blink of an eye."Hahahaha! I will use the secret art of the stone mountain"s rocky caves toimprison you two!"In the cedar forest around Okusha — all the trees began turning into stonecontinuously. With Toushouguu Okusha as the center, the petrification wasspreading all around like a wave.And then G.o.dou"s body also gradually lowered into the ground — sinkinginto rock. First it covered his ankles followed by his knees, and then itimmediately reached his waist and would soon cover his chest and finallyhis head. As he turned his head to the side, he found the transcendentbeauty, the other Campione, also sinking into the ground!"Hmm...! Planning on sealing us away!?""Haha, correct! Though you"re both injured, I"m not going to underestimateyou G.o.dslayers... Eh, rather I should say that being injured makes thingsmore frightening because you are a crazy bunch who doesn"t followcommon sense. I didn"t come to revive all this way just to take a stupid risklike that!"The Great Sage was replying to Luo Hao using Hikari"s voice."— G.o.dou!" "Kusanagi G.o.dou!?" "Master!"By the time Erica, Liliana and Lu Yinghua"s yells were heard, the twoCampiones had almost sunk completely.Inside the rocks was pitch black, but G.o.dou could still see the sinkingbeauty beside him."Sun Wukong has mastered the Immortal^ arts, and is a deity withunlimited divine powers. Though he carries the traits of the warlord of[Steel], he is also a G.o.d highly skilled in magic. To be imprisoned by suchtricks of his, I was far too careless."Luo Hao was lightly murmuring in the dark.G.o.dou was going to ignore his chest pain in order to respond, but Luo Haosuddenly smiled."Did you use up all your strength in the battle just now? Though it is theprivilege of young ones to fight without considering the future, for you toobtain victory from me at such a bargain... King Kusanagi... You are quitesomething.""1-1 defeated you? Please don"t joke with me.""It is fine. Even though it is officially a draw, taking into account thedifference in experience, the victor is apparent. For a renowned master likeme to lose to a young upstart like you, it is an unforgivable mistake. I, LuoHao, am not one of those stupid fools who deceive themselves."The demonic cult leader showed a slightly displeased expression."As the Ruler of the Martial Realm, I approve of your ability. In the matchjust now, I definitely lost."G.o.dou was speechless as he endured the pain. The battle to the deathjust now was only a compet.i.tion to her, as if having a kendo match andbeing indignant over thoughts like "I lost a round to that guy!" Is that howshe was feeling?"By the way, King Kusanagi, do you know magic that allows you to survivewithout water and air?""How could I? Other than the ability to fight G.o.ds, I"m just an ordinaryperson."G.o.dou"s answer to Luo Hao"s sudden question plunged her deep intothought."I see... If that"s the case, it would be best to return you back to thesurface.""Back to the surface!? I can get out of here!?""Yes. Until the Great Sage"s spell finishes, there is still a window ofopportunity. If I use my remaining qi^°l I can send one of us back to thesurface."Luo Hao"s offer was quite surprising, but G.o.dou immediately objected."But in that case, Your Eminence will have to stay in the Netherworld!""I don"t mind. King Kusanagi, have you not noticed? The air here is gettingthinner. The Great Sage is not so merciful as to provide food and water forus captives."G.o.dou had excellent instincts, but Luo Hao was a far sharper person thanhim.After hearing her explanation, G.o.dou couldn"t help but shiver. True, therewas no reason for that monkey to treat his prisoners well."I am the Ruler of the Martial Realm, the one standing at the pinnacle ofDaoist practices. I have long conquered this kind of ascetic training over ahundred years ago, so let me stay.""Y-You can survive without air and water, that"s really amazing. But still!""No problem. If I abandon you and return to the surface alone... Just thethought of that brings a horrible outcome!""Ho... Horrible outcome?""Correct. Think about it. If I abandon you who just won our match, rumorswill begin to spread, saying I took revenge for my defeat. I will be seen as adespicable scoundrel who has betrayed the path of heroism and chivalry!""Ah... I see now."Facing Luo Hao"s voluptuous figure, G.o.dou nodded.It was a declaration that deliberately downplayed the benevolence of heroffer. She was truly a person with exceptional pride."Of course, I don"t plan on being submerged here forever, I will surely finda way to escape... King Kusanagi, in the meantime before I return, youshall have a splendid battle with the Great Sage Equaling Heaven in mystead."Was this the price of accepting her help? She was now ordering him like asubordinate.Still, G.o.dou felt troubled. Can this stone prison be as easy to destroy asshe said?"No problem... I"ve already spoken, I am the one at the Daoist pinnacle,and will surely find this prison"s weakness and destroy it. You don"t have toworry."The slight anger of Luo Hao"s reproach showed that she had read hisconcerns."Then let"s start — Great Sage of the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper, dispelthe disaster of the inauspicious spirits!"m 11Using a beautiful voice melodic like a yueqin 1 J , Luo Hao chanted theincantation, and took out a rectangular piece of paper. On it was writtencomplicated script along with the six large characters "Ba Gua Zhi Jing JiJi"^ 1 and then she threw this talisman away.The talisman transformed into a white tiger. Then flying through the air, theferocious beast attacked G.o.dou.The white tiger opened its great jaws and the fangs skillfully caughtG.o.dou"s neck and lifted him. G.o.dou found his body rising continuously.Within the blink of an eye, he was greatly distanced from the slowly sinkingLuo Hao."King Kusanagi, I wish you victory. Go fight a battle worthy of a hero."The transcendent beauty continued to maintain her airs of superiority andspoke these parting words to G.o.dou.Part 2In the s.p.a.ce of black emptiness, G.o.dou and the white tiger flew upwards.This probably lasted only a couple dozens of seconds, and he suddenlyleft the darkness and returned to the surface.This was the area of Toushouguu Okusha, which had been turned tostone. Having stolen Mariya Hikari"s body, the Great Sage EqualingHeaven continued to casually ride his cloud.On the ground, Liliana was in a battle stance, wielding a naginata thatG.o.dou had never seen before, while Erica endured her injuries to holdCuore di Leone and Lu Yinghua extended his palms.Their gazes were drawn to the returned G.o.dou.Having accomplished its mission of bringing G.o.dou back, the white tigerdisappeared like a puff of smoke."G.o.dou, you came back safely! But where is Her Eminence Luo Hao?""She fell down in order to save me, but she said she will escape by herown power."G.o.dou answered Erica"s question simply.Since he was still in his immobilized condition, the act of speaking tookgreat effort. With an understanding expression, Lu Yinghua nodded atG.o.dou."That"s very like one of Master"s typical excuses. She probably thought thatif she abandoned Kusanagi-sama and came back alone, unpleasantrumors would spread about her in the field."Apparently quite knowledgeable in his master"s personality, Lu Yinghua"sanswer was completely correct."Ho — escaping alone? Looks like you guys are just as difficult to handleas I expected."Sitting on his cloud, the Great Sage began to swing his Ruyi Staff around.Liliana held her breath and gathered her concentration as she ran over toG.o.dou"s side."Everyone gather together! We are flying to the foot of the mountain tomeet up with Mariya Yuri and the rest!"She was likely planning on using the technique of high speed [Flight].But could they really escape? ...One really couldn"t expect Sun Wukong"slegendary somersault-cloud to be slower than witchcraft. Just as theseworries crossed G.o.dou"s mind..."Hmph, trying to escape is futile. Old Sun here is very confident in mylightning speed. Even far into the distance, a hundred and eight thousandaway, I can cover it with a single leap — Hmm!?"On his cloud, the Great Sage grabbed his knees and screamed as ifsuffering from an invisible attack.Though his overwhelming divine power remained, his body was not actingunder his control."I am not sure what is going on, but here is our chance!"Seeing the Great Sage undergoing some unexpected change, Liliana heldG.o.dou"s body in her arms.Erica and Lu Yinghua also gathered around and the entire group began tofly, surrounded by blue light.Once the destination was decided, flight magic had to immediately take offand cannot travel to an unfamiliar destination.Though it had many restrictions, it was still a very convenient magicaltechnique. The group pa.s.sed through Toushouguu"s main and worshiphalls, then flew over Karamon Gate and the divine stable. From the sky,they could see that Toushouguu, Futarasan Shrine, and Rinnouji"sbuildings, cedar forest, land, vegetation and springs had all been turnedinto stone.As they landed on the visiting path at the foot of the mountain, Yuri andPrincess Alice ran over to them."Mariya! I"m sorry, Hikari was taken by that monkey... The Great SageEqualing Heaven stole her body...""Yes, I already know. The Princess used ecto — that method to watchG.o.dou-san and Her Eminence"s fight, and told me what just happened."Just as G.o.dou wanted to apologize, Yuri interrupted him.The Princess skilled in spirit body separation also nodded at him."The entire mountain has been invaded by immense divine power as aresult of the Great Sage transforming it into a stone prison for sealing HerEminence Luo Hao and Kusanagi-sama away. If the spell is not dispelledin a few months or perhaps a few years, Her Eminence may very well betrapped forever — "Alice"s words made everyone survey the surroundings where petrificationhad already reached the foot of the mountain.This included Toushouguu"s entrance torii^ 14 ^, the five-story paG.o.da nearthere, the main visiting path leading to the holy sanctum, the cedar forest,the road made from gravel and soil, as well as the drainage ditch on theside of the road.Everything within their sight had turned into stone, with G.o.dou"s groupbeing the exception."But... How come you don"t seem worried about your master?"Erica asked Lu Yinghua.Everyone else looked worried, but he was the only one untroubled."Because she is just imprisoned, not dead. a.s.suming that is the case, letus gamble and see if Master can find a way to free herself alone."The proper-looking handsome youth scratched his head with poormanners, and answered with a disinterested tone."Oh my. On what basis do you make such a statement?""Is there any need? Think about it, if the same had happened to your ownking, how would you feel? I think all you Nee-sans will worry, but definitelywon"t write him off as dead, right? It"s the same principle."Lu Yinghua"s explanation surprised Erica, but she smiled wryly, whileLiliana and Yuri also looked at each other and nodded with emphasis.G.o.dou wanted to object. Don"t talk like I"m some kind of monster!"Rather than that, I"ve been curious about this for a while now... Wherehave all the people, who were here this evening, gone to now? There wereno people at all in the area near Master and Kusanagi-sama"s battle."That"s right. Lu Yinghua"s observation prompted G.o.dou to ponder.Just at that moment, he felt a presence approaching.From the depths of the petrified cedar forest, a group of small animalswere approaching — monkeys.There were almost a hundred of them. Many of the monkeys hid in thepetrified tree, and were watching G.o.dou"s group from amongst thebranches they had climbed onto."What"s with these guys? Did the Great Sage summon wild monkeys?""If he did, then there are too many. I have a bad feeling about this."The one who responded to G.o.dou and Lu Yinghua"s doubts was Yuri, whopossessed spirit vision:"These monkeys... No, they were originally humans, transformed intomonkeys by the Great Sage"s divine power. I am wondering if they are thetourists and people on the streets who had stayed in Nikkou mountain justnow..."The Hime-Miko explained in a trembling voice. When a [Heretic G.o.d]appeared on earth, many supernatural phenomena would occur. Was it thetransformation of people into monkeys this time?As G.o.dou felt speechless, a familiar voice was heard through the pitchdark night."People of my kingdom, listen well! My enemy the G.o.dslayer and his grouphave escaped! I will reward well the one who catches them!"It was Hikari"s voice, but clearly the Great Sage from the tone.The monkeys made a noisy ruckus and turned their gaze to G.o.dou"sgroup, their eyes full of murderous intent."If they were to attack, as knights... We cannot hit them recklessly. This isnot good.""Very true, try not to harm them and simply make them lose the ability tofight."As Erica complained, Liliana spoke gloomily. On the other hand, the othermain combatant Lu Yinghua looked very relaxed."I won"t feel sorrow even if I kill them, but there"d still be a shred of guilt.How about letting me prepare us a car to escape?""Prepare? Did you guys come here by car?"The young master of the Lu family smiled at G.o.dou maliciously."Of course not, but right now in the nearby parking lot over there, aren"tthere many cars with owners who had been turned into monkeys? We canhave our free pick. Luckily the Lu family has many subordinates withtalents in this area, and I picked up a bit of skill from them. Opening locksand driving are not a problem."Was this guy really a member of upper cla.s.s society? The one who clearedthis doubt was Erica."Perhaps you all have misconceptions about this guy, so let me clarify. It isrumored that the ancestors of the Lu family have roots in triads, or in otherwords, you can call them the likes of gangsters and robbers directly.""Really, Erica-neesan, please use something a little more cla.s.sy like"heroic outlaws", OK?"Lu Yinghua quietly laughed to himself."Probably like the Three Heroes and the Five Gallants^ or the Outlaws ofthe Marsh^, those who call themselves heroes or martial artists oftenhad roots as outlaws. Tracing back the exploits of the ancestors, they didtake part in activities like "thievery", but the Lu family prides itself for neverhaving a member who turned out to be an evil villain.""Pretty much along the lines of thieves, bandits, pirates, mounted robbers,highwaymen..."Regarding this triad member who proudly admitted to his roots, Lilianawhispered with an impressed tone:"Though the current situation is dire, if given a choice we should notdeliberately break the law... Erica, I will use flight magic once more. Helpme stall for time.""Got it. Please find us a safe hiding place."As Erica nodded, Liliana closed her eyes. When using flight magic inunfamiliar lands, it was necessary to use vision spells to confirm thedestination."Embers cast into the black metal cauldron. May the essence of the redwheel appear above my hand!"Erica chanted the spell words, and fire surrounded G.o.dou and his group.The one-meter tall flames blocked the gaze and murderous intent of themonkeys like a wall. This was a move intended to restrain and defendagainst the monkey army.A few particularly vigorous monkeys tried to make a leap, but the fire wall"sheight instantly doubled. Burnt by the red tongues of fire, the monkeysnoisily retreated to their group."Oh... You realized that my servants are actually your fellow humans? Howclever! Then I must prepare even more interesting tricks to handle youguys — "Hikari"s voice once again... No, it was the voice of the Great Sage. Heseemed a lot craftier than the average monkey, but did not sound like hewas going to attack. Perhaps it was true he couldn"t fight personally afterall?As G.o.dou was sent into deep thought, Yuri suddenly tried to survey thesurroundings."Yuri, did your spirit vision see something?""Yes, that is correct, Erica-san! Something very dangerous is approaching,a threat that requires high alert, it should be here immediately — everyone,look up!"G.o.dou turned his gaze upwards and had a great shock.A monkey was descending from the pitch black darkness of the sky, its furhaving a copper color with a shade of orange, with the body size farexceeding normal monkeys. Crash! A ma.s.sive noise reverberated and theground shook as it landed.Descending upon the main visiting path, this monkey was taller thannormal cedar trees.Roughly twelve, thirteen meters in height, it had a strongly-built physique,long arms and short legs, and a stout and giant body resemblingsomething in between a gorilla or an ape.Erica"s wall of flames was likely useless against this guy."This is not like the monkeys we met just now — it"s a divine beast! Adivine monkey beast that serves the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, withstrength that probably rivals dragons, and unimaginably powerful!"Warned by Erica, G.o.dou looked at Liliana.The silver-haired knight had closed her eyes, but the flight magic was notyet ready.Yet another giant monkey fell from the sky. Even for Erica and the rest,divine beasts were challenging opponents. For two enemies like that toappear, it looked like they had entered a most desperate crisis.Part 3As the stony ground shook beneath their feet, the two monkeysapproached G.o.dou"s group.Lu Yinghua watched them and said:"Looks like a deadly battle is unavoidable. Kusanagi-sama, I will attack firstto attract their attention. Please use this opportunity to escape.""Wait a minute, I can"t let someone I met the first time today do me a favorlike that!""That"s not how it goes. If Kusanagi-san came back in Master"s stead, thenyou are currently her representative. If I don"t display my utmost loyalty toyou, then I will be punished sooner or later most severely. Think of it asself-preservation."G.o.dou suddenly began to pity the youth who spoke such words. On furtherthought, since that woman was his master, he must have led a hard life allthese years.But after seeing Lu Yinghua"s detestable smiling face, he immediatelychanged his mind."Besides, as the disciple of Luo Cuilian, I"m not used to fighting withburdens to take care of. So let me fight my battle alone — Nee-san, is thisacceptable? I believe none of you here are arrogant enough to think youcan keep up with my speed?"Hearing his audacious words, both female knights nodded reluctantly.To have the courage and capability to make such boasts to the two geniusgreat knight prodigies, truly, it was a case of "like master, like disciple."G.o.dou felt that somehow the master-disciple pair suited each other verywell.Having made clear his intentions, the youth leaped towards the petrifiedforest, his motions like a bird gliding on its wings. This served the role of anattractive beacon for these monkeys.The members of the monkey army, whose heights ranged from half ameter up to a full meter, began to pounce after the youth. As wild beasts,these monkeys surpa.s.sed normal humans by far in athletic ability despitetheir small size, and also had sharp claws and fangs.However, Lu Yinghua was even faster and more agile than the monkeys.Moving conspicuously through the cedar branches, he nimbly evaded themonkey army"s attack. He even used his skill of Tanzhishentong^ to flickhis index and middle fingers to attack the monkeys" foreheads orabdomens. Monkeys that suffered his attacks either fainted or collapsedpainfully, struggling as they vomited.One of the two giant monkeys began to move after Lu Yinghua, itsattention captured by his conspicuous movements.It made a beeline for the youth, forcing its way and pushing down cedartrees. The little monkeys scattered away like spiders in its wake.Finally, the giant ape reached out with its very long arm, intent on capturingits prey.Lu Yinghua lightly jumped to a branch on the neighboring tree. Whileholding the giant ape"s attention, he moved between branches like asquirrel and immediately disappeared into the depths of the forest.The giant ape casually brushed aside the trees (which were nowequivalent to stone pillars) as it gave chase.Its ma.s.sive body, over ten meters tall, ran like the violent winds of a storm,gradually destroying the petrified cedar forest in its wake with destructivepower equivalent to a typhoon. Furthermore, another one of these giantapes still remained near G.o.dou"s group."Light from the East, show me your mysterious power!"Princess Alice suddenly chanted spell words and aimed her palm at theremaining giant ape.An intense flash of light shot forth from her palm, burning the giant ape"seyes.ROOOOOAAAAR! The giant ape"s howls echoed in the surroundings."A-Alice-san! What was that move just now?""The sacred miko"s blessing of light to drive off enemies. In a fight againstdivine beasts, it"s only effective as a distraction, but used as a farewellgreeting, it is more than enough."The one who called herself a princess carried herself with elegance andcalm.The ma.s.sive monkey nearby was waving its arms and legs attackingrandomly, screaming strenuously. Princess Alice"s courage sure wasoutstanding."Just like what that child said just now, we"d better get going.Kusanagi-sama, even though you are a devil king Campione, you needrest in your current state."G.o.dou nodded in agreement. Right now, his body was covered withwounds.Even without the side effects of the [Raptor], the injuries caused by LuoHao"s attacks were enough to immobilize him."I really would have wanted to watch the outcome of this commotion... But Iregret to say, Cinderella"s curfew has arrived."The blonde beauty smiled."Since too much magical power has been exhausted, this body will run outof energy soon. I have to return my consciousness to my true body to rest.The next time I can visit you all... Would most likely be a few days later."In other words, she had flown over here from her home in London usingsomething like ectoplasm or a psychic projection.Enduring his stiff body, G.o.dou nodded firmly to her."I understand. I will handle everything here properly. Please take your rest,I am really grateful to you for today.""Not at all, the honor is all mine. I feel very fortunate for the opportunity tofind out what kind of person you are."Alice deliberately winked humorously."Ah, by the way, I would like to make a request to Erica and the rest.Please keep our meeting a secret. Likewise, I will keep all manners ofKusanagi-sama"s secrets."Hearing this request that sounded like a joke, Erica gracefully bowed.Having found her destination, Liliana also opened her eyes andrespectfully bowed to Princess Alice.Like paying respects to a n.o.ble lady, was Princess Alice"s true ident.i.tysome kind of upper cla.s.s n.o.blewoman? Just as G.o.dou puzzled, theprincess suddenly vanished."So just now, that was spirit body separation!?""Now that it"s mentioned, Uncle did tell me once, the Princess was a sagewho couldn"t be judged on the surface, and had all sorts of trump cardshidden up her sleeves..."Liliana spoke what she noticed, while Erica exclaimed with great emotion.In total, the current members of the group were the blue and red greatknights, Mariya Yuri and Kusanagi G.o.dou."Uh, isn"t this our usual group?"G.o.dou couldn"t help commenting about the three girls before him.ROOAAR! Its sight apparently recovered, the giant ape charged straight atthem."Lily!""I know, come closer Mariya Yuri! We are about to take off!""Yes, right."Urged by Erica, Liliana instructed Yuri who did as she was told and camecloser. The blue light covered them once again. This was the second timethey used flight magic that day.Flying once again, the entire petrified holy sanctum was beneath them inan instant. Seeing the target had escaped, the giant ape and the small monkeysnearby roared. The other giant ape that had been crashing through theforest in pursuit of Lu Yinghua, also began to roar as well.For an instant, G.o.dou saw Mariya Hikari whose body had been taken bythe Great Sage."Namo ratnatrayaya, namah arya, avalokitesvaraya, bodhisattvaya,mahasattvaya, mahakarunikaya."^ ^It sounded like some sort of Buddhist prayer. That"s right, it was Hikari —the Great Sage"s voice.What effect do these spell words have? G.o.dou felt an ominous feeling inthe depths of his heart.The injured Campione continued flying, riding upon the blue light.Sun Wukong was the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, unparalleled in hisability to fly. Under normal conditions, he would have intercepted andstruck them down — but at this moment all the Great Sage could do wasgnash his teeth in anguish, chanting spell words at the same time.Although he had recovered overwhelming divine power, the body was notlistening to him.In possessing the body of the miko with powers of disaster purification, onenever expected to fall into such a trap...But having obtained this rare ability it should not be wasted, thought theGreat Sage as he focused single-mindedly on chanting the spell words.With the current level of divine power, that particular spell — the grandtechnique that posed great difficulty even for a warlord of [Steel] likehimself, should be usable.In order to make the Great Sage Equaling Heaven complete once more, itwould be better to finish the current task rather than seek out battle fornow.Part 4Amakasu Touma"s talents were concentrated in the combination of ninjutsuand wizardry techniques of onmyoudou^ and shugendouJ 20 ^He was not a spellcaster with a high pedigree like Mariya Yuri or SeishuuinEna.Though his family had deep roots in wizardry, their past was enshrouded indark activities such as espionage or worse, and were descendants of evilwizards. Compared to staying together with everyone like an RPG party,his skills and preferences were more suited to acting alone.The art of concealment — a wizardry technique for camouflaging oneselfand becoming one with the environment.Highly skilled in this technique, Amakasu Touma hid himself as heobserved the battle at Toushouguu, the disappearance of Lu Yinghua intothe forest, the departure of Princess Alice, and the flying escape of G.o.douand the girls.Subsequently, roughly a hundred monkeys or more started to take action,advancing towards the west of Toushouguu.The group of monkeys moved along a national route called RomanticRoad. They were making their way towards the Nikkou mountain rangewhere Nantaisan was at the forefront. The giant apes that had attackedG.o.dou"s group also travelled in the same direction.Bending their knees deeply and jumping with great force, they leapedthrough the air like shooting stars.As befitting the name of divine beasts, they were amazingly nimble despitetheir ten-meter-tall frames."Kusanagi-san and his group were fleeing north... So these monkeys arenot chasing after them. Are they intending on migrating to some place toestablish a base of operations?"Amakasu muttered to himself.All the shopkeepers, tourists and shrine personnel around Toushouguuseemed to have turned into monkeys, and now the only human left wasAmakasu."Namo ratnatrayaya, namah arya, avalokitesvaraya, bodhisattvaya,mahasattvaya, mahakarunikaya."The words of the dharani^ could be heard, carried by the wind.Dharani was a name for Buddhist wizardry and incantations. Theunderlings had left, but their king the Great Sage still remained in this placechanting the dharani.What was his purpose? Leaving Toushouguu, Amakasu walked towardsthe streets of Nikkou city.Nikkou Toushouguu was very close to the station, and around twentyminutes away by foot. Amakasu surveyed his surroundings there.Then he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. This was the physical skill thatTemplar Knights like Erica called [Leap], Chinese martial artists called[Qinggong], while users like Amakasu called it [Monkey Flight]. Though hewasn"t on the level of Lu Yinghua or Seishuuin Ena, his steps were stillsuperhumanly agile."No other obvious changes... Perhaps the Great Sage"s power ofdomination does not extend that far after all? Or he hasn"t shown his trueskills yet..."There were roughly six thousand inhabitants living in the quaint city ofNikkou.Due to the people and cars out and about, the calm and peaceful streetslooked a little bustling. There were no incidents of people suddenlytransforming into monkeys, or pitiful scenes of people screaming theirheads off. It was just the scene of a normal Sat.u.r.day night on the first dayof a three-day long weekend.Leaving the station, Amakasu made his way back towards Toushouguu.He ran like the wind along the river bank of the Daiyagawa until he saw thevermilion bridge.The famous Shinkyou was a wooden arch bridge built over the Daiyagawa.Lacquered with bright vermilion, it was very eye-catching at night.Apparently, the only people turned into monkeys were the ones aroundToushouguu.Having confirmed the situation, Amakasu stood on the edge of theShinkyou and took out his cellphone." — That"s all. This is the general situation in the surrounding area.""Understood. So the monkey divine monarch used Hikari to recover thedivinity of Sun Wukong and then created subordinates. This is not a goodsituation at all... So why didn"t you turn into a monkey as well, Amakasu?"On the back seat of a very una.s.suming car without distinguishable featuresthat was racing along the highway, Sayanomiya Kaoru was listening to thereport of her trusted subordinate."Hmm, not only me but Erica-san, Yuri-san and Liliana-san as well, none ofus were changed into monkeys. Most likely those with a certain level ofmagical power resisted the monkey transformation.""So, what happened to those involved with the Committee at Nikkou?""I didn"t see them. If they were fine, they should have taken action already,so it would not be wrong to a.s.sume they have been turned into monkeys.""If we send reinforcements, they will need to be Hime-Miko or agents onyour level, right?""Yes. Gather all the master-level instructors near the Imperial Capital^,and organize an emergency gathering of related personnel from theKantou region^, then contact the higher-ups of the spell department tocall in the wizards. Also, we need to inform Tochigi Prefecture"s policedepartment and government bureaus like the Ministry of Land,Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism... And then after that...""Yes, it looks like a dangerous crisis, so using a trump card directly is alsoa plan."Kaoru"s gaze turned to the premier Hime-Miko beside her.In order to gather strength for the upcoming battle, Seishuuin Ena wassleeping soundly while embracing the j.a.panese sword taken out from thestoreroom of the Sayanomiya residence. Kaoru"s original intention was tohave her stationed near Utsunomiya^, to be used as a free chesspiece..."That"s right, against divine beasts that are like giant UMA monsters, I thinkit is better to concentrate our firepower rather than being stingy with ourcombat potential.""Thank you for your valuable opinion, I will take it into consideration.""Not at all, you"re welcome. I"ll be going back to work."Kaoru hung up the cellphone and greeted Ena who had already woken upsome time earlier."Hikari has been captured by the Great Sage Equaling Heaven?""Ena, your hearing is acute as ever."Even while sleeping, she was still listening. Kaoru could not help but smilewryly."However, it would be a great help if you enter the fray, so Ena, what doyou think? Divine beasts have appeared and Kusanagi-san"s group is in acrisis. Do you have the confidence to penetrate into the battlefield andperform even better than Erica-san and the rest?"The cross-dressing Hime-Miko smiled at the corner of her lips. Though itfrequently surprised people when they found out, Kaoru was a talentedpolymath. Whether in the area of martial arts or the spirit powers of aHime-Miko, only one person had been able to surpa.s.s her."Of course, Erica-san is very smart and Liliana-san is very talented atwitchcraft. However, in a battle of pure strength, Ena will always be thefinal winner."The premier Hime-Miko was the only person to surpa.s.s Kaoru in spellcraftand swordsmanship.Having heard the strongest trump card make her bold guarantee, Kaoruadjusted her battle strategy.Amakasu ended his report to his boss and switched off the cellphone.It was almost time for him to make an appearance at Kusanagi G.o.dou"splace, and he also needed to confirm the condition of Mariya Hikari — theapprentice Hime-Miko whose body had been possessed by the monkeydivine monarch who should now be called the Great Sage EqualingHeaven.He had to judge the feasibility of rescuing or abandoning her. However,that particular devil king probably won"t recognize any option other than thefirst...As Amakasu smiled wryly, he found a rather alarming sudden change.Before his eyes was the bridge of Shinkyou that was lacquered vermilion.Nikkou was originally the training grounds for the monks in the mountainsand a holy place linked to the sacred peaks of EmeiJ 25 ^ The scenery of theDaiyagawa river flowing through here normally gave off an atmosphere likedeep mountains and secluded valleys, but the volume of water wascontinuously increasing right now.With Lake Chuuzenji as its source, the Daiyagawa was a beautiful stream,but that description completely failed to describe the current volume ofwater.The river water was currently gushing loudly as if flooded after a ma.s.siverainstorm. What on earth happened?Amakasu reflexively surveyed the surroundings.The first time a bridge was erected here was over a thousand years ago. Itwas said that during the Heian period, Great Monk Shoudou^ 2 ^ wasopening up the uninhabited Nikkou and Nantaisan mountains, andsupernatural ent.i.ties built this bridge for him. Shinkyou is the legacy to theworld that brings the legend to life."Namo ratnatrayaya, namah arya, avalokitesvaraya, bodhisattvaya,mahasattvaya, mahakarunikaya."Amakasu heard Mariya Hikari"s voice."Om, sarva bhava samudram sosana karana. sarva vyadhi prasamanakaraya."The Great Sage continued to chant, and soon enough, a nude male floatedonto the surface of the Daiyagawa river.His skin was very black and he had a very thin build like a sick person"s.His face was like a demon"s, with bloodshot sharp-looking eyes thatflashed brightly and sharp fangs protruded from the two sides of his greatgaping mouth.The legend of Great Monk Shoudou told that, back when the strongcurrents of the Daiyagawa had blocked his path to enter Nikkou, thehaggard monk made a prayer. A spirit then appeared on the opposite bankand began constructing a bridge across the river. This was how theShinkyou came about.Afterwards, Great Monk Shoudou gave a name to this spirit, and that was"General of the Deep Sands!? In other words, this is no longer a crisis onthe level of divine beasts!"In the moment of Amakasu"s shock, the black wrathful spirit roared loudly.Ooooooooooooooooh !The cry of a [Heretic G.o.d]"s birth was a response to the Great Sage"sdharani.As if answering this roar, the waters of the Daiyagawa River rapidlyflooded.Like a ma.s.sive flood, the rushing flow swept down from upstream, easilysmashing the Shinkyo bridge, and Amakasu too was swallowed by thetorrent.References1 . t Wandering Monk Sun(M^T#): One of Sun Wukong"s t.i.tles,Xingzhe(fT#) means "wandering monk," a reference to his joining theBuddhist faith in becoming the disciple of the monk Xuanzang in theJourney to the West.2. t Nikkou Toushou-guu: a Shinto shrine dedicated to Tokugawaleyasu, located in the city of Nikkou in Tochigi Prefecture. It is aUNESCO World HeritageSite. t Tokugawa leyasu: the founder and first shogun of the TokugawaShogunate, which ended the Sengoku (Warring States)era. t Hakama: traditional j.a.panese dividedtrousers. t Ruyi Jingu Bang(^P#^li#): the name of the magical weaponwielded by Sun Wukong, the protagonist of the cla.s.sic Chinese novelJourney to the West. t Kao(fl): a type of military outfit often worn by actors playinggenerals in Beijing opera. t Kun(i$): one of the eight trigrams from the Book of Changes. Thetrigram for kun is ==. t Mudra: religious hand gestures used inBuddhism. t Immortal^): in Chinese Daoist tradition, a sage who achievedimmortality throughenlightenment. t Qi(xl): known variously as ki/chi/qi/chakra, an oriental concept oflife energy. In Campione!, the concept is equivalent to magical power,and is the term used by Chinese characters, hence the romanization of"qi" will be used.11. t Yueqin: nicknamed the "moon guitar," a stringed traditionalChinese instrument that resembles a lute with a roundbody. t Ba Gua Zhi Jing Ji Ji(A±h*lfMw%): the words of some kind ofDaoist charm, "Ba Gua" refers to the eight trigrams of the Book ofChanges.13. t Li(JI): a traditional Chinese unit of distance. 108000 li would beequivalent to 54000 km or 33554mi. t Torii: traditional j.a.panese gate used as the entrance to Shintoshrines and also found within them. They symbolize a transitionbetween realms. t Three Heroes and the Five Gallants(H^S^): a Chinesehistorical novel set during the Song dynasty, with Justice Bao as themaincharacter. wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Heroes_and_Five_Gallants?1 6. t Outlaws of the Marsh(7j