Chapter 3 - Kusanagi G.o.dou Enters the MonkeyKing"s TerritoryPart 1Every year in October, the surroundings of Lake Chuuzenji becameencircled by the red-shaded mountains.Concentrated on the lake front were eateries, shops selling souvenirs andother things, as well as many facilities such as hotels and travel agencies.This was the hot springs resort area called Chuuzenji Hot Springs.These lands were now undergoing a cataclysmic change. Monkeys wereappearing, and not just one or two.The pedestrian walkways, souvenir shops and restaurants catering totourists were filled with monkeys; big and small monkeys casually strolledabout as a family; there was also a monkey that apparently stolesomething and was being chased by a group of monkeys wielding clubs.Monkeys were everywhere."They were all originally humans after all... Were they transformed intomonkeys by the Great Sage"s power?"Seishuuin Ena looked down upon the monkey kingdom and murmured toherself.She had infiltrated the forest near Lake Chuuzenji, and was now observingthe situation from a position high up in the branches.Traveling without using any sort of transportation like a car, Ena traversedmountains and forests with her monkey-like agility and physical abilities.Thirty minutes ago, she had just pa.s.sed the Iroha-saku Route when shesuddenly got chased by violent giant monkeys that seemed to be divinebeasts.Through her martial arts and natural instincts, she was able to fight herway out and lose them."Looks like I"d better report to Kaoru first."This sort of sensible idea was a rare moment for Ena. She took out hercellphone.Oops, no batteries. Shrugging her shoulders, Ena put the phone away."Well, since it"s them anyway, they wouldn"t expect me to report regularlyin the first place. Putting that aside, Ena should find out more about thesituation here before His Majesty"s group arrives."Slung over her shoulder was a long slender bag made of cloth, carrying atwo-foot-three-inch j.a.panese tachi blade. ^Compared to her beloved Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi, it was muchshorter. But as a normal weapon, this size was more appropriate. In manydifferent ways, the divine blade was a cheating existence.Ena felt herself getting naturally excited as she looked forward to seeingthat youth very soon, the one who had taken away her former partner.On the morning after the whole incident began, Sayanomiya Kaoru droveher car towards the camping grounds where G.o.dou and his group weretemporarily staying. After one or two hours she reached the petrifiedNikkou Toushouguu. Under the bright sunlight overlooking the strangesight, the areas surrounding Toushouguu, Rinnouji and Futarasan Shrinewere all under high alert.Sealing off the area using crime scene tape, policemen dressed insmart-looking uniforms stood on guard, preventing any unauthorized entry."Detailed reports are still being prepared, but due to various reasons,Toushouguu and other places are undergoing emergency repairs... Wehad the area sealed first using this pretext."The one explaining was Sayanomiya Kaoru who was there to welcomeG.o.dou"s group."The Great Sage Equaling Heaven seems to have transformed all thetourists and local residents here into monkeys yesterday. Checking out thenearby shops in the area, there was not a single soul in sight. However,just the fact that people vanished en ma.s.se instead of being ma.s.sacredcould be considered rather fortunate amidst this crisis."As Sayanomiya Kaoru led the way, G.o.dou walked beside her. Followingbehind them were Yuri, Erica and Liliana.Following the western visiting path from Futarasan Shrine, rows ofsouvenir shops could be seen. They were also sealed by police, and thefeeling was unusually quiet."By the way, I didn"t think the Committee had the power to even mobilizepolice forces..."G.o.dou felt somewhat uncomfortable.There was a group wearing imposing-looking uniforms, as well as otherswho looked suspicious despite wearing suits, all running about very busily."Of course. Dating back to the Meiji period, the History CompilationCommittee has maintained intimate ties with the j.a.panese Self-DefenseForce and the police, as well as various bureaucracies such as the currenta.s.sociation of Shinto Shrines, the MEXT [2] , the MLIT [3] and the Ministry ofthe Environment. Speaking of stories dating back to the honeymoon periodof our predecessors, the Manchurian railway and the Imperial j.a.paneseArmy, one could probably write a great historical treatise. It certainly wouldbe a very interesting research project."Kaoru cheerfully conversed about these topics of interest."Amakasu-san also counts as a civil servant, but he operates under anofficial ident.i.ty as someone who does phony shrine duties at variousshrines, a person with all sorts of suspicious past experiences."" — By the way, Kaoru-san, has there been any news of Amakasu-san?"Hearing the familiar name, Yuri entered the conversation.G.o.dou also waited for Kaoru"s answer. From the news last night, Amakasuwas currently missing."Sorry, Yuri, we haven"t mentioned it to you all yet, but he was alreadysaved by someone this morning. It"s a very interesting development, I"llexplain to you all later."For some reason, Kaoru made a wry smile faintly.For the purpose of a private discussion, G.o.dou separated from Erica andthe others, and with Kaoru, the two of them walked towards FutarasanShrine.It was a world entirely turned into stone.Whether the wooden buildings, the lush cedar forest, the soil, the springs,everything had transformed completely into stone."Amakasu-san"s report mentioned, that Cult Leader Luo Hao wasapparently sealed within these rocks... So she was buried alive? Whoknows if she will be fine."Kaoru lightly kicked the solid rock surface of the ground with the tip of herfoot as she murmured quietly."Hahahahaha! Being buried alive for merely half a day, how could thatpossibly kill Master! For someone like her, this kind of method would takethree years to work!"The one laughing out loud was Lu Yinghua who jumped down from apetrified cedar tree.Holding his left fist in his right hand, he bowed his head and saluted toG.o.dou using the martial arts way."Lu Yinghua apologizes for his lateness. Kusanagi G.o.dou-sama, therevered king worshiped by the ma.s.ses, may your longevity rival theheavens, and your might bring peace and order to this world!"G.o.dou felt shocked and flattered by his fluent and elegant greeting."Lu-kun... Please use a more normal choice of words.""Sorry, due to Master"s teaching, I have a habit of greeting all Campionesin a solemn manner. If I ever displease that person, I risk ending up on theverge of death."Revealing the painful memories of his everyday life, Lu Yinghua continued:"Then I will obediently speak without reservation. By the way,Kusanagi-sama, please call me directly by name. Or if you prefer, do asMaster and use a nickname. I don"t mind.""OK, then I"ll call you Yinghua."Perhaps because Lu Yinghua was male and younger than him, G.o.doufound it easy to accept his suggestion.Once again, G.o.dou was reminded of the fact that getting along with menwas much easier."Sayanomiya-san, this is Cult Leader Luo Hao"s disciple.""I know, you"re the famed young hero Lu. Though this is our first meeting,you are quite famous in our circles. I believe people on your side have alsoheard of me."As introductions were made, Kaoru signaled with her eyes."Kusanagi-san and I... were planning on having a conference of leadersbetween the two of us. However... I can allow Mr. Lu to join in as theChinese representative. Let me first explain the situation. The Great Sageis currently moving from Nikkou City Street to Okunikkou."Kaoru took out a map of Nikkou from her shirt pocket."This area from Lake Chuuzenji to Okuyumoto is called Okunikkou.Currently, any ordinary person who steps into this territory will immediatelytransform into a monkey."The beautiful Committee leader traced her finger along the map as sheexplained to the other two."The routes going into Okunikkou by car are the First and SecondIroha-saku Routes, the Konsei Mountain Pa.s.s on the border of GunmaPrefecture, as well as the Nishizawa side. I have already sealed off theregion with mobile teams.""When we go there, will they let us pa.s.s?""Of course, but no matter which route you pick, please be careful of thegiant apes our spies have encountered... Come to think of it, Mr. Lu, youshould have been chased all night by a divine beast yesterday, right?""Actually that big monkey gave up on pursuing me after a while, so Ifollowed it instead."Lu Yinghua smiled with satisfaction.His outstanding qinggong^ and superhuman mobility allowed him toperform tracking missions of this sort."Despite their immense size, they move quite nimbly, giving me a bit of ahard time last night. But thanks to penetrating deep into enemy territory, Iwas able to witness something extraordinary on my way back. Thismorning around daybreak, there were some unusual presences gatheringon the sacred mountain on Okunikkou, so I investigated a little."Lu Yinghua recounted everything he witnessed on Nantaisan.G.o.dou learned that new enemies had appeared, and his formidable foehad removed the binding spell."Even Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing have appeared... Looks like the situationhas become rather troublesome.""Yinghua, how is Hikari — the girl whose body was taken by the GreatSage, what is her condition like?"As Kaoru commented with a worried expression, G.o.dou took theopportunity to inquire about Hikari.Since the binding spell was removed, Hikari"s disaster purification shouldn"tbe needed any more."What"s strange is the Great Sage went to sleep using her body... But fromwhat I overheard from a distance, it sounded like he wasn"t able to leavethe body of the miko."Hearing Lu Yinghua"s report, G.o.dou felt relieved.Since little had changed in Hikari"s condition, the worst case scenario hadnot happened."Kusanagi-san... Hikari"s role as a hostage has not changed. When fightingthe Great Sage, I fear that child may become a hindrance — ""Sayanomiya-san, please do not waste any more words on this matter."G.o.dou quickly interrupted her. He had already been warned by Erica oncelast night and there was no need for him to hear it again."I will surely bring Hikari back from that monkey. I will definitely save her.All other matters, like defeating the [Heretic G.o.d] or saving the poordistraught people will be considered afterwards. There is no need toexplain to me what you are trying to say.""I see... So this is your decision?"For some reason, Kaoru sounded greatly interested.Her manner of speaking usually carried subtle tones, and seldom revealedher interest so openly without pretense."Only I can defeat these G.o.ds who bring trouble to people, so asking me tofight is fine. I don"t mind that. However, my power is my own. I will notallow anyone to use me for their own purposes. I will neither use my powerin areas I hate, nor will I entertain any complaints about my preferences."Though G.o.dou knew he was making a very unreasonable declaration, hefinished his statement in one breath. He understood that saving the worldrequired being impartial to private concerns, but at this time all he wantedto do was follow the answer in his mind."If someone thinks that abandoning a girl could save even more people,then let that person go fight a G.o.d alone. It doesn"t concern me. However,if I am the one who is fighting, then things have to be done my way.Anyway, what I"m trying to say is, if you are going to rely on someone, thenjust shut up with the nagging!""Well said, Kusanagi-sama, you are now acting as befitting your stature asa devil king."Praised by the demonic cult leader"s direct disciple, G.o.dou felt a littleembarra.s.sed.His current proposal was identical to all the other Campiones who alwaysdid as they wished, and no different from the philosophies of Cult LeaderLuo Hao and Marquis Voban."You"re really hopeless, but actually no matter what Kusanagi-san decided,I was prepared to take full responsibility... Though things seem to havetaken a most interesting turn. Anyway, I never expected you to saysomething like "It is fine to sacrifice Hikari. I will defeat the Great SageEqualing Heaven!" That would have been quite off-putting."How could I possibly say something like that! Even Kaoru smiled."Despite how I may appear to others, I really like people who like to actcool or follow their whimsical ideals. By the way, I like cute girls too, but asthe leader of an organization, there are times when my hand is forced.However... this time it"s the orders of His Majesty the Devil King, so I haveno choice but to obey."The Committee Branch Chief smiled mischievously.The way she and Lu Yinghua were supporting my decision, made themlook like unscrupulous businessmen conspiring with corrupt officials, orrather, should they be described as followers of the devil king and enemiesof the world?As a Campione, looks like I am advancing in a most questionabledirection...While G.o.dou lowered his head in thought, Kaoru took out her cellphone.Apparently someone was calling."Kusanagi-san, the missing fellow will be arriving soon. Do you want tomeet him? There"s also a very interesting visitor coming with him."After conversing for a while, Kaoru hung up the phone and asked G.o.dou.The missing fellow was probably Amakasu, but who was the interestingvisitor? G.o.dou tried to guess as he followed after Kaoru.In a most matter-of-fact manner, Lu Yinghua went along with them. Thethree of them came to the main visiting road before Toushouguu.Erica, Liliana and Yuri, the three of them were chatting with thesuit-wearing youth. As expected, he was Amakasu of course."Kusanagi-san, how embarra.s.sing... But I finally got back."Noticing G.o.dou"s arrival, Amakasu hurried to greet him.His voice sounded drained of energy. Looking closely, his face seemed abit sick, and his suit was filthier than usual.It was the first time for G.o.dou to see him in such a weakened state.At this time, G.o.dou noticed the Caucasian lady standing behind him. Hershort hair was a brilliant shade of red like a burning fire. Her elegant facewas highly intellectual and extremely strong-willed, and she was wearing aleather jacket with leather pants.A completely flawless, cool and ethereal beauty. Such was the initialimpression that this woman gave."T-This is Miss Annie Charlton. S-She is the one who fortuitously saved mewhen I was unconscious and completely drenched. 1-1 owe my life to her,my savior."Amakasu"s body trembled incessantly, and he kept wiping his nose as heintroduced the one who brought him here.The ethereal beauty greeted with impeccable j.a.panese."My name is Annie, pleased to meet you."Part 2Amakasu Touma and Annie Charlton.The people standing around these two were Kusanagi G.o.dou and MariyaYuri, Erica Blandelli, Liliana Kranjcar, as well as Sayanomiya Kaoru and LuYinghua.A most unexpected gathering of influential people.Amakasu continued to shiver as he recounted the circ.u.mstances ofVaisravana"s appearance."Are you still hurt from that time? You don"t look too well.""N-No, that"s not it, my injuries have already been healed by magic.However, I"ve caught a severe flu from lying wet and unconscious for agood many hours, and I currently have a high fever."In other words, healing magic"s effects against disease was much lesseffective than for physical injuries.G.o.dou recalled the magic trivia he once heard from Erica."If I didn"t receive Miss Annie"s aid, p-perhaps I would have gottenpneumonia. Miss Annie seems to be from Los Angeles, a-and a mage fromover there.""Let me be direct. I came to j.a.pan to track down the divine ancestorAsherah."Annie followed up Amakasu"s explanation with a clear voice that matchedher ice cold demeanor closely."Could you be... a benevolent mage?""That is correct, I have never joined the sorcerers" faction."The red-haired ethereal beauty nodded at Erica"s question.Benevolent mage. G.o.dou felt intrigued by this term he had never heardbefore."Due to many historical reasons, there are not too many magi present inNorth America. As for the villains who gathered there after being driven outby the righteous magic a.s.sociations in Europe, they are called "sorcerers."All magi who oppose them are labeled "benevolent" in distinction."Liliana contributed her explanation."I have heard that Asherah was being used by the Chinese Campione andhas become Leviathan once again. I also know about the Great SageEqualing Heaven manifesting by possessing a young girl"s body, and thatyou are the team formed to resolve this incident."Annie swept her gaze across everyone present and declared:"Since secrecy is not essential for this incident, let me begin by revealingmy mission. I was sent here by Los Angeles" king to confirm Asherah"sdeath. My mission ends once the witch is dead. However, I think it wouldbe rude to leave without greeting everyone here at the site of thiscataclysmic event, so let me a.s.sist you all.""Los Angeles" king? Then you must be...?""John Pluto Smith"s subordinate?"Yuri and Liliana were greatly surprised, but Annie quietly corrected them."Please do not call me his subordinate, but refer to me as his collaboratorinstead. Though he does lord over Los Angeles like a king, the thought ofbuilding his own kingdom has never been his plan. That is the personalstyle of John Pluto Smith, please remember that.""This is exactly why I was so intent on introducing her to Kusanagi-san.Perhaps this is an excellent opportunity to sign a friendship treaty betweenj.a.pan and America."As Kaoru mischievously made her request, G.o.dou gave her a quickglance."One must possess substantial magical power in order to pa.s.s throughOkunikkou without being transformed into a monkey. I have alreadyconfirmed with her guarantors — the Three Sages of North America, thatAnnie Charlton is completely above suspicion and has no problems inability either."Kaoru turned towards Annie to introduce G.o.dou."Miss Charlton, this is the leader of our crisis team, Kusanagi G.o.dou-san."The History Compilation Committee core member did not reveal G.o.douwas the Campione of j.a.pan. This was clearly a deliberate move to giveKusanagi G.o.dou the choice to disclose his ident.i.ty or not.In this current situation where there was a severe shortage of manpower,Annie"s suggestion was most gratifying.However, if things had worsened so much over a single night, was it reallyappropriate to get her involved?"Anyway... Before we decide whether we accept Miss Annie or not, let mereport the latest findings."Sayanomiya Kaoru provided news from the scouting personnel at thescene. Then Lu Yinghua summarized his eyewitness account of the threedeities gathering on the peak of Nantaisan, as well as the disappearanceof the [Keeper of the Horses] enchantment.Finally, G.o.dou mentioned the latest developments. After hearing all thecurrent information at hand, Erica nodded intently while Liliana shook herhead in distress. Realizing the situation made it even harder to rescue heryounger sister, Yuri had a frozen expression. As for Amakasu, his alreadysickly demeanor became slightly worse.On the other hand, Annie Charlton —"Is that so? The situation truly is severe. In that case, we must hurry to thescene and try our hardest to resolve the incident. G.o.doh, do you agree?"Speaking without changing her expression, Annie"s calm tone of voicemade clear her sincerity and strength of will.Could he trust this person? This woman was the collaborator of the NorthAmerican Campione, and she seemed to give off a kind of incrediblepresence. G.o.dou nodded to her in agreement.One hour later.G.o.dou and the rest were riding a police car summoned by the HistoryCompilation Committee, and had arrived at the entrance to Iroha-sakuRoute.Never expecting himself to be sitting in this sort of black and white publicvehicle in such a manner —G.o.dou had rather mixed feelings.Just as Kaoru had mentioned, Iroha-saku Route was being sealed by amobile team of policemen and their vehicles. They did not obstructG.o.dou"s group who called themselves members of the History CompilationCommittee. At this point, they switched to a smooth-running silver SUVspecially prepared by the Committee.Annie Charlton was in the driver"s seat while G.o.dou sat beside her withErica, Liliana and Yuri in the back.The ones who stayed behind in Nikkou City Street were Lu Yinghua,Amakasu because of his flu, and Kaoru as the highest decision maker ofthe Committee here. The other two aside, G.o.dou really wished that themartial artist from Hong Kong could accompany him as a majorcombatant —"I have something complicated to handle, so I must stay here.""I see... But if you could come along, it"d be a great help."G.o.dou was greatly disappointed by the rejection. In a group with his usualteam mates plus Annie, he really wanted another male companion."My most sincere apologies, but since Master is buried alive at this place, Ihave to show effort in trying to rescue her or else there will be all sorts ofhorrifying consequences.""Yinghua, I never knew you missed your master so much, are you worryingabout Luo Hao?"Just as G.o.dou thought he had discovered a caring and thoughtful side tohim, Lu Yinghua shook his head."Nope, I am completely not worried about her. If it"s Master, it is definitelypossible for her to smash the stone prison and escape with her own power.However as her disciple, if I don"t make it evident I spent three dayscarrying out rescue operations, she may throw a fit going "You should betreating Master like family, what a cold and merciless child you are!" Thus,before I secure proof of presence at the scene, I can"t come over."To be able to make this dauntless youth so wary...G.o.dou silently mourned for him, imagining the kind of trauma he hadreceived from Luo Hao." — As feared, the [Eyes] I sent out have all been repelled, just asSayanomiya Kaoru mentioned. Unless we cross this mountain pa.s.s,magical investigation cannot be used."Just as the car was about to start, Liliana explained as she sat in the backseat with her eyes closed."What do you mean by eyes?""Lily has the ability to use the [Witch"s Eye], didn"t she use it yesterday?"Erica explained. The vision-augmenting witchcraft technique of the [Witch"sEye] was said to create a third eye out of the void, and could be used toperform reconnaissance from afar."I heard the Committee members who could use investigative spellsmention that they were unable to send [Eyes] to Okunikkou. Just as seenfrom spirit vision earlier, the Great Sage"s divine power has saturated theair in this vicinity. This divine power likely produces effects similar to abarrier."Yuri reported the results of spirit vision."G.o.doh, you must be an amazing person despite your young age. For yourteam to consist of the [Diavolo Rosso] of the Copper Black Cross, the witchof the Bronze Black Cross, as well as a j.a.panese spirit vision specialist...What are your own talents?""Umm... Regarding this, let me explain a little later."G.o.dou tried to dodge the question from the impressed Annie. It was verylikely he would need to reveal the truth soon, but there was no hurry. Atthis time, the car started to move.Iroha-saku Route was a winding road that twisted and turned just like thecharacters used to write its name.The mountain path sloped greatly and there were a series of sharp turns.This was a scenic route that went up and down the mountain of Nantaisanand provided a great view of the natural mountain scenery.Annie drove the car with great seriousness and caution, safely crossing thefirst difficult section.Soon after, they could see the mountain forest dyed in the autumn colorsof red and yellow. During this time, the car finally reached an easilycongested portion of the mountain road. After about ten or so turns, theyarrived at a sharply winding U-turn. In that very instant, a giant monkeypushed apart the trees and appeared before the car!"It"s the divine beast from yesterday!"The moment Erica shouted, Annie had already taken action. Slamming onthe brakes, she opened the car window on the driver"s side, and extendedher arm, a slender revolver in her hand.BANG! Annie fired her gun without any hesitation.As silver sparks scattered, the bullet struck the giant ape"s fur, tracing out asilver trajectory. It probably carried some kind of magical effect.However, the giant ape seemed to be completely unaffected, and reachedout with its long and thick arms."Annie Charlton, that level of magical attack will not affect a divine beast!"Liliana warned.G.o.dou noticed another silhouette being reflected in the rear-view mirror,but Yuri had already cried out before he could give a warning."F-From behind as well, everyone be careful!"A giant ape had also appeared from behind, and they were now stuck in anattack from both sides. Encountering two divine beasts on a mountain roadlike this would normally be a hopeless situation.In spite of all this, Annie remained completely calm, and her eyes, full offighting spirit, glared at the two divine beasts, as befitting the collaboratorchosen by the American Campione.At this time, G.o.dou became aware of a certain feeling and signaled to thegirls in the back seat with his eyes.The first to react was Erica who gestured to give orders to the silver-hairedgirl. Liliana immediately opened the car door and the two knights jumpedoff the vehicle."What are you intending to do? Hurry and come back!""Annie-san, please rest a.s.sured! Leave it to G.o.dou-san and the rest tohandle this."Yuri explained to the puzzled American.As Yuri spoke, the spell words recited by the three outside the car could beheard."The one unblunted and unapproachable! Oath-breaking sinners bepurged by the iron hammer of justice!""Eli Eli lama sabachthani? Oh Lord, why hast thou forsaken me?""People, listen to David"s song of mourning! How are the mighty fallen, andthe weapons of war perished!"G.o.dou first summoned the [Boar].A day had already pa.s.sed since the battle with Luo Hao, and G.o.doudiscovered he could summon the enormous black beast when the twogiant apes came attacking from both sides.Given a good foothold, the [Boar] alone was probably enough to finishthem off. But on a mountain path like this, even the vigorous andenthusiastic boar would find it hard to go all out, which was why the knightswere using the spell words of David and Golgotha to halt the monkeys"advance.Erica summoned Cuore di Leone, shaping it into an arrow of steel andinfusing the spell words into it. She then conjured a bow of steel andreadied the arrow on it.Liliana created the Bow of Jonathan and prepared the blue arrows of light.The [Boar] charged at the giant ape in front while the red and blue knightspinned down the one in the rear.The black divine beast rolled down the mountainside together with thegiant ape, leaving the menacing giant ape in the rear who warily watchedthe bows and arrows of the two knights. A clear path had been opened.The knights returned to the car, but just as G.o.dou was about to follow, hislegs lost strength and he collapsed."W-What is going on? My body..."His body could not move and felt very exhausted. G.o.dou was terrified bythis feeling he had never experienced before.This happened immediately after using the [Boar], could it be the result ofthe injuries from yesterday!? Come to think of it, the pain this morning wasquite intense, but after moving his body for a bit, he had forgotten aboutit...Realizing something was wrong with G.o.dou, the apprehensive giantmonkey in the back began to show an increasingly dangerous gaze.— No. Danger was not limited to the rear.A new giant ape appeared from the front; an unexpected third monkey.They were once again caught in a crisis with attacks from both sides!" — G.o.dou-san!" "G.o.dou!" "Kusanagi G.o.dou!" "G.o.doh, hurry and comeback!"The newly appeared giant ape approached, looking down on thedefenseless G.o.dou and silver SUV, and vigorously waved its arms.At that very instant, spell words were heard."The many-fenced place of Izumo / Of the many clouds rising — To dwellthere with my spouse / Do I build a many-fenced palace: Ah, thatmany-fenced palace! Seishuuin Ena has arrived!""Ena-san— !"Hearing the one who announced her name fearlessly, Yuri"s facebrightened with happiness.From amongst the leaves that were turning red, out jumped the uniformedgirl. Carrying a j.a.panese sword, surrounded by strong gales swirlingaround her, the Hime-Miko of the Sword made her appearance.Ena blocked the path of the gigantic ape from the front.Around her, the wind"s strength was increasing like a small-scale tornado.Though it was small-scale, it was clearly infused with divine power, for Enahad the ability to use the technique of divine possession. As her guardiandeity, Susanoo — the storm G.o.d"s authority was hers to command!This tornado pushed back the arm of the giant ape.What an embarra.s.sment for a divine beast. The giant ape roared savagely,baring the sharp fangs in its mouth and started to spit crimson fire as ifintending to incinerate G.o.dou together with Ena.But the storm G.o.d"s tornado guarded the Hime-Miko of the Sword andrepelled the flames."Across the fields and mountains / Setaria in a storm... The sounding gatesof Awa / Whom shall determine their fate — !"Ena leaped as if her body was as light as wind, and reached the giantape"s shoulder with one jump.With a flash, her sword was embedded deeply in the giant ape"s left eye.ROOOOOAAAAAR!Painful roars came from the giant ape"s mouth.During this time, Erica ran out, picked up G.o.dou"s body and pulled himback into the car. At the same time, Liliana prepared to fire a second arrowfrom the Bow of Jonathan to pin down the giant ape which had resumed itsadvance from the rear.The giant ape with one eye destroyed by Ena angrily waved its arms andlegs around randomly, but the loss of depth perception made it impossibleto hit its target.Landing on the ground with leisurely grace, Ena ran towards the car."Annie-san, please hurry and go!"Once her fellow Hime-Miko got in, Yuri hurriedly gave instructions.Annie Charlton stepped hard on the accelerator, and the silver SUV shotforward, leaving the giant apes behind.In his faint consciousness, the rescued G.o.dou was vaguely aware of thevoices of his female companions."Your Majesty, are you ok! Luckily Ena felt like it was about time for you toarrive, so I had been guarding this side of the mountain pa.s.s.""Could it be... No, for sure he must be the king. In other words, one knownas a Campione...! Are you one of his team members?""Team member? No, that"s not the kind of relationship Ena has with him.Ena is His Majesty"s woman. Well, I haven"t been officially recognized yet,so maybe something like an underground lover? But I"m not the only oneoh, everyone here is His Majesty"s woman.""U-Underground lover!? Everyone here is his woman!? N-Now that it ismentioned, I have heard that j.a.pan"s king is a terrible young s.e.xualpredator — l-l now understand."Annie-san, you are mistaken, please don"t misunderstand. G.o.dou reallywanted to get up and defend himself.But before he could speak, G.o.dou had already lost consciousness.Part 3It feels really hot. That was G.o.dou"s first thought as he woke up from adaze.He could hear the sounds of girls in the surroundings. They seemed to besaying something. His mind still fuzzy, he opened his eyes and found somekind of mist or smoke hanging in the air. Could there be a fire?No, it"s steam. After blinking who knows how many times, his brain finallybecame fully awake."Ah, His Majesty is up.""G.o.dou, are you ok? Even though your body has already been treated,how do you feel now?"From the left came Ena"s voice while Erica could be heard from the right.As the mist drifted apart, G.o.dou"s brain and five senses began to recovertheir normal functions, and he was struck with utter shock."W-What the heck is going on! How did this happen?"He immediately yelled. And no wonder it was so hot, he was currentlyimmersed in an open air hot spring.Hot water reached up to G.o.dou"s shoulders while his back was against thevolcanic rock used to enclose outdoor baths. Naturally, G.o.dou wascompletely naked except for the large towel wrapped around his waist.And then, there were the two beauties right in front of him.The blonde-haired blue-eyed Erica Blandelli. Seishuuin Ena with her blackhair and black irises. Even though both of them covered their bosoms witha bath towel, their excellent figures were still clearly visible through the thinfabric.Erica"s bust and hip measurements appeared to be even bigger than thenumbers on record.However, Erica"s impressive figure was not enough to overshadow thevoluptuousness of Ena"s body.Perhaps due to the bath towels tightly wrapped around their bodies, thecleavage of the two girls was greatly emphasized. If only the water wasfrom one of those murky hot springs, but unfortunately the water here wasfar too pristine and transparent.The only object separating G.o.dou from the naked bodies of the two girlswas simply a bath towel.It would be bad to keep staring, so G.o.dou forcefully shifted his gaze to thedistance. However, this only achieved the result of alerting him to thepresence of the other two beauties in the bath."l-lt is great that you have revived without issue.""P-Please do not look over here, G.o.dou-san!"These two were Liliana Kranjcar and Mariya Yuri of course. Similarly, thesegirls" bodies were only obscured by a single bath towel each.Liliana acted with great calmness.However, her pale body had turned bright red from embarra.s.sment. Evenso, she maintained her usual awe-inspiring posture and did not try to avoidG.o.dou"s gaze.Though her body lacked exaggerated curves, it made the subtle convexityeven more conspicuous.This was a mysterious fairy-like attractiveness that was possessed only byslender young Caucasian beauties.Like a piece of artwork made of gla.s.s, there was a heightened sense ofpreciousness due to the fragility.In complete contrast, Yuri was trying her hardest to shrink away and hideher body.Though her posture did succeed in concealing her frontal view from others,her motions were not very elegant and one could still peek at herwonderful figure from the side.Yuri"s figure was not as voluptuous as Ena or Erica, but her body still hadan abundance of feminine charm.The curves were just right and one could only exclaim in wonderment atthe two beautiful mounds that stood out as the only area capable ofsupporting the bath towel — the only fabric covering her body. The roundand full curve from the small of the back to the b.u.t.tocks was like an artisticmasterpiece. Despite their slender nature, her thighs seemed particularlysupple with a sense of lively beauty. Yuri"s entire body was very perfect.There was a subtle balance between beautiful curves and a sense ofsubstance; in this regard, Yuri"s body ranked amongst the highest levels."Hahaha, I see. I get it now!" Faced with this completely unreal scenery,G.o.dou laughed as he muttered to himself."This has to be a dream. I must be so repressed during normal life for meto finally dream such a scene! No mistake about it!""What are you talking about, G.o.dou? There can"t be anything more realthan this?""Yes yes. Look, doesn"t this hurt? This is all happening in reality."At the same time as Erica was speaking, Ena pinched G.o.dou"s cheek.Ouch!"I see. This is actually reality... Then may I ask, where is this place?""A hot spring at Lake Chuuzenji. The area has become a mess due to theGreat Sage Equaling Heaven, and the impact has forced many hot springspas to be abandoned, so we slipped into one of them."Ena answered fluently, but G.o.dou still had more questions."Then why am I immersed in the hot spring?""Your Majesty, please recall, didn"t you collapse? Ena thought that bathingin a hot spring would be an excellent way to get rested.""Ena told me about a folk remedy called hot water therapy, so this is aperfect opportunity to test it out."Hearing the answers from the Hime-Miko of the Sword and the blondeknight, G.o.dou looked up at the sky. It was almost dusk and the sun wasgradually sinking west."And so I was immersed in this bath unconscious, is that right...""It"s ok, in order to prevent Your Majesty from drowning, Yuri and Enaintended to enter the bath with you right from the very beginning — in fact,Ena often bathes in hot springs while in the mountains... And thenErica-san also came in, and following her was Liliana-san over there.""Think about it, yesterday I said I wanted to have a dip in an outdoor hotspring, right? This is a great opportunity.""1-1 believe this is a meaningless act, which is why I tried to stop them! ButErica and Seishuuin Ena would not listen to my entreaties. With no otherchoice, as your knight I must supervise this suspicious folk remedy, and soI had to come.""I-L. Because Ena-san said I must come along and forced me to enter! Donot misunderstand! I... I only came in here to stop Ena from going too far!"The girls gave their various reasons for coming in here.There were too many things to object and G.o.dou couldn"t respond to themone by one. However, the most pressing concern that needed to beaddressed was —"Fine, I have another question. Who took off my clothes?""As I am the one who proposed the idea, of course Ena has to bearresponsibility.""I also helped, oh? As G.o.dou"s lover, it is only natural.""W-What the heck did you two do! If that is the case..."G.o.dou glared sharply at them. In a rare moment, these two fearlessfellows averted their gaze."Hmm... Yes. Your Majesty, I am sorry... Ena saw it. At that time, I wasthinking if you"re dipping in the hot spring, then of course you have to benaked, so along the way I took it off.""That"s right, since it all came off, of course it"s impossible not to see."After Ena confessed, Erica also chimed in, a little embarra.s.sed."But Your Majesty sure trained your body well, it is really cool with so manydistinct ab muscles.""Besides, G.o.dou has already seen my naked body before, right? This iscalled equivalent exchange. It"s just mutual admiration of our nakedbodies, that"s all."G.o.dou cursed the various reasons that led to this predicament.Erica showed a proud expression that G.o.dou hadn"t seen for quite sometime, whereas Ena looked rather apologetic."Then... As an apology, I don"t mind if Your Majesty looks at Ena"s nakedbody, oh?"Her words had an explosive effect. Eh? G.o.dou"s brain froze from the shockfor quite a few seconds."Since Erica says that things can even out this way, Ena will do the same.Sorry, this is Ena"s apology. On further thought, since it"s Your Majesty, Ishould have done this from the start. T-Though I"m still a little scared, butin the future I will have to carry your bloodline, and do this and that..."Ena loosened the white bath towel around her body, and a thin piece ofcloth began floating in the hot spring.With a solid sense of weight, yet carrying an incomparable impression ofgentle softness, the twin peaks looked elastic enough to bounce backquickly if one were to poke them with a finger. The most prominentpositions in front were adorned by a faint color of pink.Beneath the seductive and slender waist, the nether regions needed nofurther mention."Ah, Ena sure is unexpectedly bold. Everyday situations aside, I wassuspicious what was going on when she had been acting so pa.s.sively untilnow."Erica threw out this comment coldly. The barbs contained in it lacked herusual elegance.Possessing so many unconventional factors, it was very likely thatSeishuuin Ena had already been cla.s.sified by Erica as a dangerouscontender she had to be wary of."Hmm, after all, Ena has had very few opportunities to build close relationswith boys, so I don"t really know how to talk to them... But no matter, I willnot let this deter me!""Yes... Ena has come up with a great idea, actually I should have done thisfrom the start. I must be a little slow not to have realized it earlier."Even Erica"s bath towel had been removed. Why do they have to getoppositionally defiant in a place like this!?As G.o.dou screamed for help in his mind, the body of a G.o.ddess wascompletely laid bare in full view.The bosom that always declared its existence intensely in spite of clothing,now floated openly in the hot spring. It was impossible not to look. On thefront of these b.r.e.a.s.t.s the size of small cantaloupes, there was a pair offlower buds attached like some sort of faintly red fruit; the waist wasamazingly slender especially in contrast with the richness of the other twomeasurements — an extremely attractive tight and slim waist; finallybeginning near the hips, the full and luscious b.u.t.tocks were both seductiveand adorable —"Come, Yuri, take your bath towel off as well.""No, hands off! Ena-san, please let go of me!""Seishuuin Ena! Stop this rude behavior immediately! I will not permit youto continue such unruliness!"The naked Ena grabbed Yuri tightly.As her childhood friend, the Hime-Miko, attempted to remove the bathtowel on her body, Yuri looked like she was about to cry as she tried toescape. However, a corner of the towel had been caught, and her jade-likebeautiful skin was revealed. In her efforts to stop these actions, Liliana"sbath towel also loosened slightly.G.o.dou could not bear to watch any longer.Immediately, he jumped out of the water and ran back to the changingroom as fast as he could.I can"t stay in this kind of place! Run away! In order to preserve theintegrity of his male dignity, G.o.dou suppressed his desires and ran outimpulsively.Part 4Fortunately, G.o.dou"s clothes were still in the changing room.Drying himself off in a hurry with a towel he found, G.o.dou frantically put onhis clothes and walked out the corridor to the entrance. Ena was right; thehot spring really was a part of the hotel facilities.Stepping outside the building, he discovered it was a small traditional hotspring resort.Anyway, G.o.dou"s first goal was to calm down, so a brief stroll outsideshould suffice.The resort was situated along the spectacular sh.o.r.e of Lake Chuuzenji.The leaves adorning the surrounding mountain range were colored inshades of red and yellow, and combined with the clear water of the lake,the wonderfully beautiful autumn scenery was difficult to describe.There were many different shops and hotels along the sh.o.r.e of LakeChuuzenji, such as western style hotels, stylistically distinct westernrestaurants, coffee shops, etc. Shops were also s.p.a.ced out quitegenerously.At this moment, G.o.dou noticed a monkey walking in front.Based on its approximate height of 80cm and the red face, it seemed to bea j.a.panese monkey.Their gazes met. The monkey repeated a series of brief cries of "kiii —kiii — " as if making a greeting, and then carried on in its original direction.That direction was towards a crossroad.Anyway, G.o.dou had already been informed beforehand that the ordinarycitizens of Okunikkou City had all turned into monkeys. With an uneasyfeeling, G.o.dou began to run.Chasing the monkey just now, G.o.dou reached the intersection. Eventhough it was just a normal road, there was a ma.s.sive red torii situatedthere. Compared to the traffic lights at the crossroad, it was roughly doublein height.This was one of Lake Chuuzenji"s sights, the Red Torii. ^ Clearly a roadlike any other, except with a huge red torii over it, facing the touristsouvenir shops, eateries and all sorts of stores lined up on the main road.Looking into the distance at such a scene, G.o.dou sighed. It really was likea monkey kingdom.— kii! kiikii. kikikii, kii — !— ki? kikiikikii, ki! ki!The cries of monkeys came from all directions, and Lake Chuuzenji"s hotspring street was full of people who had transformed into monkeys.Furthermore, there was a great abundance of species including j.a.panesemonkeys, macaques, gibbons, baboons, chimpanzees, orangutans,mountain gorillas, etc.There were even some that G.o.dou couldn"t tell what type they were. Likecity pigeons that were accustomed to humans, they did not make loudnoises or scatter when they saw G.o.dou.The monkeys dominated the sh.o.r.e of Lake Chuuzenji, and behaved verymuch like humans.Some were taking photos with digital cameras (except holding them upsidedown with the lens facing the wrong direction). Some were working inshops doing something similar to what the staff did (except taking fistful ofbills from the cash register and stuffing them in their mouths to chew).Some were ordering food (but poking their fingers into the soba noodles inthe bowl, and eating directly with their hands), sort of.The monkeys imitated humans, like a scene from a satirical play.It might be considered interesting for a circus act, but G.o.dou becameangrier and angrier as he watched. As soon as the thought that they wereoriginally humans entered his mind, it was no longer funny at all."It is possible that they retain memories from when they were human."A voice came from behind.It was Annie Charlton, who was walking over."Looks like you have recovered, G.o.doh...""Yes, after a good nap, I"m fine now."G.o.dou nodded. His body felt very light and free without any sense ofdiscomfort.But how did this happen? Annie"s eyes showed a vicious expression ofextreme disgust."That cannot be the only reason... Just now, your girlfriends werecompeting to apply healing magic to you. In order to determine who wasgoing to kiss you, they even broke out in argument. In the end, it was Enawho seized an opening, kissed you in your sleep, and applied the magic — ""Something like that happened?"G.o.dou felt embarra.s.sed that Annie witnessed what had happened."With magical power that can defeat divine beasts with ease... I can atleast acknowledge your power as a king. But G.o.doh, for you to use theauthority you usurped from a G.o.d to make so many girls into yourcandidate partners — no, treating them as playthings to satisfy your l.u.s.t...It is truly shameless!"Playthings!? Such unilateral thinking was too biased in perspective. G.o.douimmediately objected:"Please don"t take Seishuuin Ena"s words as the truth! They are just mycompanions and my friends. We are not in some kind of inappropriatemess of relationships.""That sounds exactly like the explanation of politicians when scandalsbreak out."Annie"s gaze and expression were as cold as ice."Although you have been in denial all this time, please bear in mind Ialready witnessed what happened at the resort just now. Your attempts tofind weak excuses are futile.""W-What are you talking about!?""W-Who could have thought such orgiastic gatherings existed in this world,I used to think they were simply rumors... I never expected someone Iknow to engage in such behavior. I was so shocked that I was driven awayfrom the resort. To think there were five young adults, male and female,gathered in a bath, doing things completely naked..."Oh my G.o.d. To think that Annie was aware of the commotion in the openair bath.She knew about the shameless mixed bath and the inexcusable licentiousbehavior."P-Perhaps it was a bit noisy just now. But please, you must believe me!There is nothing inappropriate between us and we have never doneanything crossing the line!""You dare say you have not done anything? Please give me a break. Foryou to engage in prurience all the time and offer such ridiculous excusesnow, you are truly terrifying! T-That sort of ridiculously licentious behaviorwas something that I thought only existed in television drama series!"The ethereal beauty was clearly shaken — Annie Charlton turned out tohave surprisingly low immunity in such an area.In the end, G.o.dou had to wait for almost five minutes before she calmeddown."There are still many things I must admonish you for such immoral acts,but I will put it aside for now. By the way, G.o.doh, I am very surprised thatyou are a king who acts quickly to handle situations."Annie"s tone of voice returned to the usual coldness, though the feeling oficy sharpness exuded from her beautiful face was still gone. It wasapparent that she was still recovering from the shock just now."Ordinarily, do you Campiones not delay until the crux of the matter comesinto play? All the devil kings in Europe do things in that manner."It seemed like Annie"s true nature was a clumsy person in contrast to hercapable appearance.G.o.dou pretended not to see her efforts to recover her composure. Thiswas the so-called grace of the warrior."It was just coincidence that an incident occurred right next to me this time.I"m not going to risk my life and throw myself at a situation withoutunderstanding the cause and circ.u.mstance. If the opponent is a G.o.d,caution is essential, which is why I don"t want to be slacking off."G.o.dou continued to feign ignorance and clarified his principles.Come to think of it, that fellow Doni really did nothing but fight G.o.ds.Compared to that idiot, Kusanagi G.o.dou was truly industrious."What about Annie-san"s companion? If he only sent his collaborator overhere, then he must be a lazy and willful fellow too?""Pretty much... Though I believe he can still be considered hardworking."Annie shrugged."He is a man who always says things like "As long as I appear at the righttime" or "As long as there is a good end result." But no other way around it,that is John Pluto Smith"s style.""Looks like his personality isn"t very compatible with mine...""Who knows? You are very alike in your lack of common sense. You mightget along very well after all. Anyway, rather than worrying about suchissues of American-j.a.panese diplomatic relations, you should beconcerned with the future of these people."Annie complained as she nonchalantly chastised both devil kings of j.a.panand America.Her gaze was directed at the group of monkeys that used to be humans,the ones now engaged in crazy acts."The population in this area is roughly a thousand. These people, alongwith the tourists from outside, have all been turned into monkeys. In fact,similar incidents have occurred in the past.""Incidents caused by G.o.ds?""Yes, a few years ago in a national park at Los Angeles, there was anincident with the appearance of Artemis, the G.o.ddess of the moon andbeasts. At the time, the G.o.ddess transformed hundreds of people into deer,bears, boars, wolves and birds, but Smith finally prevailed over her."At this point, Annie lowered her gaze and she whispered in a worriedvoice."But the people that transformed were unable to return to normal. Theyhad no choice but to give up their human ident.i.ties and continue living aswild beasts. I fear such a possibility might exist this time as well."Discovering a new potential issue, G.o.dou became speechless.He had believed all along that the monkeys would turn back into humansonce he defeats the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. Was this only wishfuloptimism?References1 . t Tachi(^ZI): a type of traditional j.a.panese sword worn by the samurai cl2. t MEXT: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology3. t MLIT: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism4. t Qinggong($£5b): literally "technique of lightness", a Chinese martial arts :of superhuman speed and even flight. Equivalent to [Leap] magic of western i5. t Red Torii(# HM): picture can be viewedhere.