Chapter 4 - Deep Yet Brief SlumberPart 1With the beginning of the new school term, two weeks had already pa.s.sed."How peaceful..."G.o.dou yawned casually.He was currently on the roof of Jounan Private Academy"s high schooldivision. Even though it was the lunch break and there were many otherstudents, the roof was still far from crowded.Plus the fact of today"s fine weather, with the sunlight and gentle breezestreaming over the roof, made for a rather pleasant experience."With all that behind me, the utter chaos that occurred during spring breakalmost seems unreal..."Perhaps because he had been an athlete since childhood, G.o.dou was arather proactive person who got things done.But currently he was idling around uncharacteristically. Resting against theroof fence, he casually sucked coffee-flavored milk from a drink carton.Ever since returning from Italy, he had been stuck in this sort of state.Perhaps a result of his intense experiences in foreign lands, he foundhimself unable to adjust to the pace of his new life...That"s right. New life. Having pa.s.sed April, Kusanagi G.o.dou was now afirst year high school student.Though Jounan Academy"s high school division was considered the type ofschool that guaranteed promising university prospects, it was surprisinglylax.Thanks to the freedom of the school culture, school rules were notparticularly strict, nor were students studying themselves to death. Clubactivities offered opportunities to interact with the university division, andconsequently, for better or worse, these "seniors" would often take theirjuniors out to have fun. On the other hand, the encouragement of sportswas nonexistent.This sort of freedom which completely relied on students"self-management, was probably closer to a university in style.Compared to sports, more diverse and varied cultural club activities wereoffered.Last year when the cheerleading club attended the national convention,they were given a blessing of "the sports clubs returning to the nationalarena after an absence of ten years!" The rest of the state of affairs couldbe surmised from that.It was this kind of school. As usual, G.o.dou still belonged to the "go home"club.Lazily pa.s.sing his lunch breaks, he would blankly plod his way through theafternoon lessons then go home immediately after school."Onii-chan, you still haven"t decided on club activities?"Sipping tea in the living room, Shizuka asked when she returned homefrom school.Not especially tall but very adorable in appearance, she was a very likablelittle sister enhanced by her trait of surprising defiance."Yeah, because there"s no club I especially want to join.""Sigh, I guess our school really doesn"t have a sports club that Onii-chancan enjoy if you"re serious... On the other hand, the cheerleading andballroom dance clubs seem to be quite amazing."Shizuka nodded as she spoke. Having pa.s.sed the middle school entranceexaminations to enter Jounan Academy, the little sister was currently asecond year student in the middle school division. Hence, G.o.dou was alsoher senior as a student in the Academy."Anyway, the baseball club is so weak it"s not even funny.""That"s interesting, but it"s fine anyway.""Perhaps, if I had to make a recommendation, it would be the culturalclubs. Amongst them are some rather weird ones, it"s actually quiteinteresting. In any case, no matter which club, you should still join one. It"snot good for a person to be idle.""Really?"Even urged by Shizuka, G.o.dou was not really convinced."It"s not like I have to join a club no matter what. There"s no need to hurry.In my cla.s.s, there are many other people in the "go home" club.""Other people are other people. Onii-chan is Onii-chan."Rudely pointing her index finger at her brother and senior, Shizukadeclared crisply."This is advice for Onii-chan"s own good. It was the same with Grandfather,after he resigned his job at the university, he became even worse thanbefore. If you continue to idle about, it is very likely you"ll become agenuine good-for-nothing!"Grandfather -- Kusanagi Ichirou once taught folkloristics in university.His specialty should be j.a.panese and worldwide arts and traditions. Hewas the legal guardian who attentively looked after the sibling pair ofG.o.dou and Shizuka in place of their busy parents. At the same time, hewas also a man exceptionally wise in the pleasures of life.Not exactly idle hands.Only because he was rather skilled in various forms of pleasures, he wasrenowned as a "connoisseur" or "celebrity" to many people. To elaborate,"pleasures" referred to drinking, banquets, traveling, socializing, artisticaccomplishments, and most importantly, the ability to build relations with aspecified (rather than unspecified) large number of women.Meanwhile, the little sister who was trying to remonstrate her older brother,was a member of the tea ceremony club.Even within the boundaries of the high school division, G.o.dou had spottedShizuka once. She was probably in the middle of club activities afterschool. Girls from both the high and middle school divisions had gatheredtogether to move cardboard boxes.During the brief encounter, G.o.dou had waved "Hi" to greet.Shizuka also waved lightly in return....Come to think of it, there was also a high school girl whose beauty wasabsolutely stunning -- a pretty girl with heavily brown-tinted hair who lefthim with a deep impression. She had quietly greeted him with refinedgentleness. Intimidated by such beauty, G.o.dou even failed to catch aserious glimpse of her face...In any case, in the two weeks since school started, Kusanagi G.o.dou hadbeen in the "go home" club all along."I hereby declare the founding of the [Imaginary Date Club]. Comrades,rise and gather forth!""Stop talking nonsense! Moe is born from DVDs and hard disks. Try as youmay to fill the gap with imaginary delusions, humans have limitations!"In G.o.dou"s First Year Fifth Cla.s.s, male students named Nanami andSorimachi were engaged in some kind of strange club activities, arguing forsome inexplicable reason. G.o.dou simply ignored the noisy racket.Incredibly, after returning from Italy, things around him seemed to lack asense of concrete reality.By the time he noticed, his right shoulder could now swivel and move freelysomehow.The shoulder that was injured during the summer of his third year in middleschool and his reason for quitting baseball, had unexpectedly recovered.Consequently, that path remained open for him to pursue once more.Nevertheless, a recent event had already robbed G.o.dou of this choice.It was the night just before the last day of spring break."Since the new school term is starting, this kind of chance will be rare fromnow on."Thus declared Miura, G.o.dou"s middle school rival and baseball teammate.This happened on the sports ground of a certain middle school in theTokyo special ward of Kita. During the day, Miura had phoned to say "Tocelebrate this bro"s graduation, you have to come along."Miura was a fastball pitcher nicknamed the strong-armed. Furthermore, hewas an extremely pushy kind of fellow.From his extensive experience as a catcher, G.o.dou knew many pitcherswho were conceited enough to call themselves "this bro" as well as otherswho were unexpectedly delicate. Unfortunately, Miura belonged 100% inthe former camp.However, this was precisely how the current situation arose.Gathered in front of the middle school Miura was graduating from, theyillegally trespa.s.sed by climbing over the school walls.The perpetrators were G.o.dou, Rui, Nakayama and Miura. Everyone livedin the north of Tokyo and had been mighty baseball champs whocompeted in matches of the Tokyo Selection and World Series. Thoughthey had belonged to different teams, there were often times when theyhad to cooperate compet.i.tively. These were comrades linked by anincredible sense of solidarity."...So, why have you called us here today?"Rui was the one questioning. Though not particularly tall, he was aninfielder and first hitter with outstanding sharp senses.He was clearly a boy but possessed a cute and well-proportioned face."What, starting this year, this bro will be courageously advancing towardsvictory in the National High School Baseball Championship. Before thenew term starts, it"d be nice to hear you guys cheering and showingsupport.""...Can I go now? There"s something on television."Nakayama grumbled to the willful one who invited them.A man of few words with an appearance like a vagabond warrior. Hisphysique was tall and slim, but he was quite a strong long range hitter."Yeah, I"ve been asked by people at the amateur baseball club to help outtomorrow. So I"d like to go to bed a bit earlier tonight.""If you guys are going, I"m off too."As soon as Rui stated indifferently, G.o.dou concurred as well. That wouldbe the plan."Tsk, stop saying such heartless things! Guys, aren"t you all giving up onbaseball!? That"s why I wanted to invite you all out here while there"s stilltime! Can"t you guys act a bit kinder?"Miura yelled. Come on, man, who wouldn"t want others to treat them nicer?Somehow these words did not sound annoying. Unexpectedly, he gave offan impression like a bullied victim.Nakayama turned back from his exit while Rui smiled wryly and G.o.doushrugged. For various reasons, these three had intended to abandonbaseball in high school.Only Miura entered a school renowned for strength in baseball. Perhapshe would be immersed in training all year along, sweating like rain even onweekends. Indeed, today was probably the only chance for them to gettogether again.Due to this, the night game of the four got started.Miura unlocked his alma mater"s sports equipment storeroom in awell-practiced manner. Without anyone noticing he had taken a key outfrom somewhere, he looked like a student in a sports club hiding behind inschool no matter how you looked at it...The four of them took out bats, gloves and other equipment.Then they freely and joyfully played ball games as each of them variouslytook on roles of pitching, batting and catching.Halfway through, G.o.dou took up his bat and calmly stepped into thebatting zone with Miura on the pitcher"s mound. Looking from here, Ruiwas standing behind G.o.dou -- the position of the catcher."A casual match to decide the victor... How"s that?"As Miura proposed, G.o.dou silently prepared to bat.Things continued as naturally as water flowing downhill. Miura pitched asG.o.dou batted. Thus the repet.i.tive cycle began. Judgment calls of strikeand ball were made by the catcher in the umpire"s absence.G.o.dou started with ten strikes or so without hitting any b.a.l.l.s, but thereafter,his. .h.i.ts began to grow in number.As expected, a gifted pitcher who set his sights on higher goals andsomeone who had not touched baseball for half a year were on completelydifferent levels. Nevertheless, G.o.dou did not give up on the match andbegan to rouse his fighting spirit as a batter.Presently, the moment finally arrived.Miura was pitching his prided straight ball towards the top outside corner.This kind of speed and momentum was normally beyond a middle schoolcatcher"s ability to handle. Were it not for Rui"s outstanding senses despiteplaying in an unfamiliar position, Miura would not have gone all out tothrow this kind of pitch."Isn"t this even faster than when I played catcher!?"G.o.dou yelled out as a savage grin appeared on his face the very instanthe swung the bat.--Everything seemed to stop, allowing him to see clearly. During his daysas a player in peak condition, G.o.dou had been able to see through Miura"sfastb.a.l.l.s and hit them cleanly, but this was on a completely different level.The strong fastball pitch was clearly motionless in his view.Then he swung, making contact squarely with the center of the bat.With a clear and crisp bang, the ball was sent flying into the distance in aseemingly straight line."Struggling before your imminent demise, G.o.dou! Just accept it and go outin three strikes!"Miura pitched again but from this point onwards, the result was always thesame.Despite the outstanding speed and trajectories of his pitches, G.o.dou sawthrough them all. He made hit after hit as if it was the most natural thing inthe world. The only reason why he did not hit homeruns was because herealized on the third ball that "it would be bad if the ball flew outside theschool.""How amazing, Kusanagi-kun... You"re in great shape, or perhaps not. Didyou get possessed by a G.o.d or a devil?"Rui widened his eyes nonchalantly, Nakayama applauded enthusiastically,while Miura clutched his head in shock, completely defeated..."I guess when I focus myself on matters of winning and losing, this body"sconst.i.tution naturally expresses itself..."Muddling through a day of cla.s.ses in a daze, G.o.dou was on the roadhome from school.G.o.dou muttered quietly as he recalled events during spring break. Hisbattles in Italy were the same. Inexplicably, his instincts and reflexes wouldsuddenly become keen, allowing him to evade enemy attacks with theslimmest of margins. The crucial factor seems to be fighting spirit, so howseriously did he need to take a fight before adrenaline levels overflowed...?Could it be possible, his current state was also -- G.o.dou thought to himself,greatly unsettled.Even a 100mph fastball from the American Major Leagues should bevisible if he decided to face it seriously. Disregarding the issue of capturingthe ball at the most appropriate spot, seeing through that speed and hittingit with the bat was probably not a problem?"Now that I think about it, my body became keen on its own..."In the match against Miura, his limbs started becoming agile at some pointwithout consciously noticing. As if for the sake of winning, his rusty bodywas being fine tuned on a detailed level, with the goal of reaching the bestpossible condition."Using this body would be the same as cheating. At any rate, it"s toounderhanded for any serious compet.i.tive sports... It"s quite unfair."In direct proportion to fighting spirit, his concentration and condition rose toillogical heights.Inconspicuous though it may be, it was quite an advantage. G.o.douoriginally intended on trying out other sports apart from baseball in highschool, but he was now forced to give up. It would be too unfair for theother compet.i.tors.That said, what could he do now?"The cultural clubs don"t really interest me, so how about working somejobs..."In the process of his contemplations, a blonde foreign woman brushedpast his shoulder -- It can"t be.G.o.dou looked back in trepidation to find a tall Caucasian woman in herlatter twenties. Completely different from the beautiful girl he had met inItaly.How could it be her? The instant his heart settled down, someone came tostrike a conversation."What"s going on, G.o.dou? You"re showing an expression like you droppedyour ice-cream."It was his childhood friend who lived on the same shopping street,Tokunaga Asuka.She was wearing her school uniform of Tokyo Metropolitan High. The twoof them had been in the same school from kindergarten up through middleschool, but were finally separated at high school. Her long hair was tiedinto twintails, one on each side of her head. Maintained since childhood, itwas Asuka"s trademark."What the heck kind of expression is that?""An expression of subtle disappointment. As if you weren"t likely to eatanother ice-cream again."Since they were familiar friends who knew each other inside out, theystarted conversing without even bothering with greetings.Observations pointed out by Asuka who had known him for so long, weregenerally quite accurate. But G.o.dou frowned slightly and said:"Nan, it isn"t that kind of expression. Don"t say such strange things.""Really? Fine, if you say it isn"t, I"m not going to argue over that. By theway, G.o.dou, there"s something I want to confirm. You must answertruthfully.""What"s with this sudden change of subject?""You... You"re not hiding a girlfriend from me and Shizuka, right?"The childhood friend"s gaze was like a detective"s interrogation of animportant witness."As if that kind of thing was possible! What would make you speculatesomething so strange!?""Suspicion number one. You ran off to who knows where for spring breakwithout returning home for ten days. Even when asked what happenedduring this period, you never gave a straight answer.""...I am not obliged to report. Anyway, I don"t see the connection.""Suspicion number two. You"ve been looking blankly out at s.p.a.ce andlacking in spirit after coming home. Furthermore, you sometimes stareintently at brunette and blonde women."G.o.dou was greatly shocked. He was completely unaware he was doingsomething like that.But now that he looked back in context, she was quite right in certain ways.He could not deny that..."Completely unfounded. Say, it"s been so long since we last chatted, andall you talk about is stuff like this?""Shut up. In regards to you whose female relationships have grown incomplexity somehow, I am simply worrying if you had some sort of strangeencounter. Clearly you should be thanking me instead, not complainingabout things."Asuka shrugged as she spoke, completely self-absorbed."Whatever. I don"t really think a girl can be found who can stomach a weirdguy like you. Fine, investigations will resume once new evidence surfaces.""I am nowhere as weird as you describe.""Please restrict such foolish statements to the first of April. It is completelyunconvincing, with zero credibility."During times like these, G.o.dou would pretend to be very calm andcomposed, when in actual fact he was quite taken aback.Obviously he had not gained a girlfriend, but it was true that he made afriend in distant foreign lands under the influence of mysterious fate. Asbefitted the childhood friend dating back to kindergarten. G.o.dou was trulyimpressed.Part 2Erica Blandelli was the most glamorous and beautiful young maidenG.o.dou had ever met.After the battle with Melqart, he woke up to find her attending to him by thepillow side."This time you slept for five and half hours. Your recovery time from neardeath has shortened slightly."As soon as G.o.dou woke up, Erica reported fluently."...Why did I almost die?""Because Melqart was not completely destroyed. He used his last strengthto give you a blow, only then did he become powerless... Simply stated, itresulted in a double knockout."G.o.dou surveyed the room as he listened to her melodic voice"sexplanation.It was the bedroom in the Zamparini mansion, and he was lying on thesame bed as Erica. The rays of dusk streamed in through the window,illuminating the room orange."Well, whether [Heretic G.o.ds] or Campiones, both sides possess almostimmortal survivability. It is quite unheard of for a fight to be decided withoutone side dead.""Almost immortal... Ah, now that you mention it..."G.o.dou agreed wholeheartedly, recalling his body clearly.Despite facing those sorts of desperate crises where one would invariablythink "I will probably die," no matter how many times, he had barelysurvived them all. I guess that"s the kind of illogical beings we are."Since you"ll resurrect anyway, there was no point in troubling a hospital,so I brought you here. And just as predicted, hospitalization wasunnecessary."G.o.dou got up from bed to examine his body -- it was completely healthywithout a single wound."In any case, you fought a divine king-cla.s.s [Heretic G.o.d] immediately afterrebirth as a G.o.d-slayer, and managed to get a draw. An outstandingperformance award is a total bargain considering your labors."This appeared to be Erica"s distinct style of praise, but G.o.dou shook hishead in disagreement."No, I"m nowhere near that amazing. I think I owe the majority toVerethragna.""What do you mean?""When Verethragna was lingering on Sardinia, that guy was seeking aworthy opponent for battle. Hence, the island"s strongest G.o.d -- Melqartwas revived."I, seek nothing but defeat. Hence I arrive in search for a formidable foe.Verethragna"s arrogance but cheerful manner of speech was recalled fromG.o.dou"s memory."Melqart manifested not because of me, but for the sake of fightingVerethragna. But since the original opponent disappeared, wouldn"t it benatural for his fighting spirit and obsession with victory to be compromised?For someone inexperienced like me to find an opening, it feels like that"sthe cause. But it"s just a feeling."Unable to bear unworthy praise, G.o.dou spoke out of such considerations.However, Erica stared at G.o.dou meaningfully and said:"In just a few rounds of actual combat, for your instincts to have such alevel of effect... That feeling of yours, has already surpa.s.sed the level ofmortals.""W-What do you mean by that?""Considering us mortal humans, whether a G.o.d of that level becomesstronger or weaker is completely irrelevant. Because, regardless ofwhether he is at peak condition or not, fighting equals death.""Becoming king results in a body with this sort of disposition. Or rather, yourequire this kind of disposition to slay a G.o.d in the first place. This isequivalent to the "chicken and egg" problem. There is no answer."Erica nodded as if in admiration."Whatever. In any case, this incident is really over, so I can return to j.a.panwithout worries.""Eh? You"ve already decided to return home, G.o.dou!?""Of course. Didn"t I mention that not too long ago?""Eh, yes. But it wasn"t easy for you to become king and survive actualcombat against G.o.ds. The option of staying behind in Europe, the center ofmagic, living as a Devil King is also--"Uncharacteristically, Erica"s speech displayed anxiety. It seemed like shewas reluctant to part with Kusanagi G.o.dou. To such a girl, G.o.douresponded:"No no. This kind of illogical power is better kept unused.""...You"re really unbelievable. Even if you"re uninterested in a G.o.d-slayingauthority, with no attachment to it at all, how should I put it? Your att.i.tudetowards power is quite easygoing.""The power to fight or whatever, it"s something that many people possess,right?"Compared to a baseball team filled with fourth hitters, G.o.dou preferred ateam that deployed people in flexible strategies based on their strengths.He explained clearly:"What"s important is how a person chooses to use it. Based on thisprinciple, I originally had no use for a power to battle G.o.ds. Since I have nouse for it, I don"t need it.""That... I see, so that is why you received the ten incarnations..."For some reason, Erica showed an expression of full agreement. G.o.dousaid to her:"I never expected us to spend so much time together, but because of that,I must say goodbye now. You"ve taken so much care of me, Erica, if achance arises in the future, I will definitely return the favor.""Yes, I look forward to it. But G.o.dou, if you"re going back to j.a.pan, why doyou still plan on encountering me again?"Finding something greatly amusing, Erica smiled."Isn"t the eastern country of the rising sun quite far from the Europeancontinent?""Even if you say it"s far, it"s only half a day"s flight, so it"s not that far afterall. If a friend is ever in need, and I can help in some way, I believe it isworth the time and expense to travel here.""Right! This is precisely your manner of thinking!"G.o.dou was struck by a most precious sight at this time, Erica"s innocentsmile.It was not a pretentious smile, nor an eerie devilish smile, nor a lioness"ferocious smile. This was an innocent, bright, cute smile that belonged tosomeone her age.G.o.dou instantly felt his heart beating intensely. To describe it as a suddenshock would not be wrong."Ah yes, by the way, even though it"s only about Zamparini, that guy wasfound earlier. After Melqart blew him away, he was drifting in the sea.""Really!? To think he actually survived!"G.o.dou yelled out loudly to disguise his quickened heartbeat.In truth, it was not entirely acting. After all, the old man"s survival was goodnews indeed."Making the most of all magic at his disposal, he drifted for an entire dayon the stormy seas. When the storm subsided today, his dove familiarfinally managed to fly back to the mansion and report his survival. A ship iscurrently going out to pick him up, and he"ll probably be admitted to ahospital tonight.""That"s really good news. Are we going to visit him later?"That night, G.o.dou and Erica slept in the same room just like yesterday. Asper their custom, they demarcated an invisible boundary and slept in thesame bed.The unfortunate Old Man Zamparini was sent from the harbor to thehospital, so he was not home tonight.Hence, all said and done, it would have been fine to sleep in other rooms.However, Erica did not elect to do that, and for some unknown reason,neither did G.o.dou object.Probably because of the stress immediately after the deadly battle, neitherof them were able to sleep as they lay on the bed. They chattedsporadically, softly conversing with each other.When night yielded to dawn, Kusanagi G.o.dou welcomed the day of hisreturn home.Getting a ride from [Panormus], they arrived at a comprehensive hospital inPalermo city and met the rescued Walter Zamparini."Oh my, that was so careless of me. If another opportunity arises, pleaseremember to call upon me. I will surely prove my worth next time!"Reportedly, he was still quite haggard last night.Residing in a hospital room far more luxurious than for other patients, theold man seemed completely unaware of smoking restrictions as he lit andpuffed on a cigar, requesting for a chance to avenge his honor. Withoutany external injuries to recover from, he was looking a lot better.His reason for hospitalization was supposedly pure exhaustion.Nevertheless, that concern also seemed quite redundant.The sight of the vigorous old man made G.o.dou smile wryly.Afterwards, he went to the airport with Erica.Somehow, they ran into Lucretia Zola who had just flown in from Sardinia."Who knew I would once again encounter you, whom has returned safelyfrom the Mediterranean, ordained by fate to survive... Oh well, it seems likeall sorts of unexpected things happened."Unexpectedly pedestrian yet possessing sublime beauty, Lucretiaexclaimed in surprise.Recalling all sorts of "finished" matters, G.o.dou stood stiffly in the airportlobby with an "Eh.""That"s right. This person has the ability to respond to changingcirc.u.mstances with astounding swiftness. He can already be considered afull-fledged Devil King."This comment instantly caused Erica to straighten her face and Lucretia tomurmur "oh" softly.Their gazes focused on a young man. A handsome blond with a tall andtightly sculpted physique.He was dressed in a bright red shirt and white cotton pants. There was aLatin air of easygoing thoughtlessness about him. With a smile like thesummer Mediterranean sun (or put differently, a foolish aura), he waswalking over."It must be you. You"re the seventh. Not bad, you"re even younger than meback then!"He suddenly spoke to G.o.dou in a sweet voice that matched the handsomeman"s face quite well.However, perhaps due to his shortcoming of frivolous airs, he did not seemlike a lady-killer."It"s been a while, Sir Salvatore... And your reason for coming to Sicily is?"Somehow the name Erica used to address this young man soundedfamiliar."Ah, it"s been a while, you must be Ellen Ivanovic, right? Oh my, actually Iwas still in Argentina until a few days ago."Boldly getting names wrong, the young man continued unconcerned."I was suddenly informed that a [Heretic G.o.d] had appeared so I hastilymade my way back to Europe. But then all transportation to Sardinia wasstopped due to the heavy storm."The young man called Salvatore seemed to be in his early twenties.G.o.dou noticed he had a cylinder slung over his shoulder. Its shape andsize was large enough to carry a baseball bat, and it caused bone-chillingfear for seemingly no reason at all. Surely, something most dangerous wascontained inside.Zamparini"s submachine gun could not compare in any way..."I went to Sardinia as soon as the storm calmed down. I asked the locala.s.sociations many questions, about the G.o.ds that had appeared and theG.o.d who was rea.s.sembled and reportedly defeated by the seventh. Itseemed a shame to return just like that, so I came over here to meet mynew kin."The seventh. Kin. Those words could only mean one thing.The instant G.o.dou realized, Lucretia Zola greeted the young manreverently."Indeed. Then allow me to make introductions. This young man, KusanagiG.o.dou, is indeed the seventh to become king after you, the sixth. TheG.o.d-slayer who slew warlord Verethragna and repelled the Phoeniciandivine king Melqart at Sicily.""I see. I am Salvatore Doni. Let"s get along well from now on!"Paying half-hearted attention to Lucretia"s introductions, Doni offered hisgreeting. Just as G.o.dou hesitated over how to respond, Doni suddenlysaid something unexpected."So, I"ve got a minor suggestion, why don"t you have a duel with me?""What?""Other than G.o.ds or our kin, there are no opponents we kings can fightseriously. I"m sure you"ll soon find this fact troubling. So, how about a duelto commemorate our first meeting?"G.o.dou replied reflexively to this stupid proposal."I"m sorry, I don"t really understand your joke. There"s no time left, soplease save your words for next time."In the near future, G.o.dou would come to regret concluding this encounterso hastily.At the time, why did he waste respectful speech on that idiot... Educated ina sports environment since childhood, speaking to elders with politenesshad become an ingrained habit. Nevertheless, this should really beadjusted based on the person...Regardless, an unexpected meeting had occurred. It was time for the flight.Sent off by Erica and Lucretia, as well as the young man named Doni,G.o.dou started his return journey to j.a.pan.In actual fact, he had spent a total often days in Italy.A period multiple times that of his initial plans.Part 3G.o.dou experienced a turbulent ten days in Italy.After returning home, G.o.dou spent the remainder of his spring breakpurposelessly. After that, April arrived with his new life as a high schoolstudent. With that, things had basically ended in a daze.That said, it was not as if he had done nothing.Back when exams had ended and he was concerned that his body wasgetting out of shape, G.o.dou had started jogging almost every day anddoing stretching and other muscle training that did not require equipment.Thanks to that, he managed to maintain an energetic mental state afterreturning from Italy.Two weeks had pa.s.sed since the new school term, and he found himselfwith too much free time.Even pa.s.sing time doing nothing would result in hunger, resulting in gettingfat. Bored out of his mind, the idea of "I should start working jobs" suddenlyoccurred to him.The simple explanation: Kusanagi G.o.dou was a man."Since the root of human nature is animalistic and coa.r.s.e, I can"t continuethis nervous mental state."Hence, on a Thursday in late April.After school, G.o.dou made his way to a shop located in the Adachi specialward in Tokyo. Through an acquaintance of his grandfather, he had founda part time job ent.i.tled "a.s.sistant in an antique shop which collects brokenjunk that has been sleeping in old storerooms."By the time he got off from work at 10:30pm, it was quite late at night.On the way home, G.o.dou found himself in trouble. Walking along thestreets at night, he was surrounded by seven foreigners.This occurred on a bridge crossing over a river in a residential zone.Looking down from the steel-built bridge, one could see a river bankcovered with flourishing weeds as well as a top cla.s.s river which requiredno flattering descriptions of magnificence. Once G.o.dou stepped foot onthis bridge, he found four men in front and three more appeared behindhim.Blocked from advancing or retreating, G.o.dou looked to find traffic andpedestrians absent."So... Can I help you? This seems to be our first meeting, right?"Even though the mood was far from friendly, G.o.dou asked gently.The seven men were all tall and strongly built.Funnily enough, they were all masked. The type which covered the eyesand the nose, reminiscent of masquerade b.a.l.l.s except with more variedclothing.Men in ordinary suits. Rough men in t-shirts and construction pants. Men injackets.Based on their complexion, one was black while the others were white.The black guy was the most conspicuous and seemed quite dangerous.Standing at roughly 190cm, his weight was likely over 100kg. It wascertainly believable to call him a heavyweight fighter.Wearing a tank top, his bare shoulders were tattooed with poisonousspiders..."Excuse me, I"m a bit unclear as to why I"m being treated this way."This sinister group, were they the comrades of Italian magi?G.o.dou felt very uncomfortable from their tactic of surrounding a loneperson, but he continued to speak politely.When people look like they are itching for a fight, nothing good wouldcome out of responding in kind. G.o.dou tried to get out of the situationthrough gentle and peaceful measures, but the men began to take actionwithout speaking a word.The black man approached from the front and suddenly launched a rightpunch. This was clearly no amateur punch, proving G.o.dou"s earliersuspicions to be correct.Fast and heavy, it was punch that flew towards his face in the shortestpossible trajectory.G.o.dou managed to evade, most likely thanks to that body"s const.i.tution.The instant the man clenched his fist, a "switch" seemed to have openedinside G.o.dou. Immediately, his focus became keen, allowing him to easilysee the incoming punch-Anyway, G.o.dou evaded to the left first.But the black man was clearly no amateur. Without withdrawing hisextended fist, he grabbed at G.o.dou"s shoulder instead. Still recoveringfrom his dodging posture, G.o.dou was unable to evade this time.He was caught.Violently pulling G.o.dou towards him, the black man sent a strong kneeattack!"GahH"Struck in the stomach by that horrifying impact, G.o.dou groaned.Unable to bear the pain, he bent over and fell on his knees. Furthermore,the other men took this as a signal to attack. The tragic group beating thusbegan.The enemies were seven strong men well-trained in martial arts. Batteredby their merciless punches and kicks, G.o.dou felt intense pain and wasthrown onto the asphalt of the road.Even so, he continued to resist.G.o.dou attempted to use the [Bull], the incarnation for facing enemies farstronger than him, but it was no good. These guys -- big strong guys on ahuman level were nowhere enough.Conditions were not fulfilled unless fighting a bearer of greater "strength."G.o.dou continued to experience tangible pain.Several minutes pa.s.sed in this manner.Due to the lateness at night, neither cars nor pedestrians pa.s.sed by. Italmost seemed as if people had been driven away by magic. Then G.o.douyelled out slowly."T-Treating someone like a punching bag... You guys, you have no senseof right or wrong!"Hearing his angered voice, the team of seven men panted as they loweredtheir heads."d.a.m.n it, this monster...""l-ls this really an opponent beyond our so-called level...""Comrades, do not despair! If we fail this mission, there is no returninghome for us!"Speaking one after another, they made it sound like they were the victimsinstead.Nevertheless, they were indeed out of options. It was true that G.o.dou wasinjured all over, but he also remained unexpectedly lively. On the otherhand, the attackers" hands and legs were hurting.A man who had landed a left hook on G.o.dou"s face had his wrist twistedinto a strange angle. His fist also seemed to have fractured. A man whohad taken a low kick at G.o.dou"s shin also seemed to be in similar pain,nodding his head as he held his leg....A Campione"s bones are harder than iron, Erica mentioned once.If that was the case, haphazardly beating in an unarmed fashion onvarious bones -- the cranium, the cheek bones, the lower jaw, ribs, thethighs, the shins, etc, resulted in this.However, G.o.dou"s bruises, scratches and internal hemorrhage wereinnumerable.Only his bones did not break or shatter, muscles and tendons were fine,brain and internal organs needed no mentioning. And most important of all,the [Camel], which G.o.dou could only use when suffering from severeinjuries, was still unavailable.Simply stated, that was the level of injury he sustained."Looks like we must prepare ourselves for a struggle to the death...Everyone, take out your weapons!"The man who appeared to be the leader of the seven-man team suddenlyproduced a double-bladed axe!The other men also revealed dangerous tools in their hands -- slenderswords, handguns, short swords with gauntlets, and even hammers.Erica had also used that magic to conjure weapons before. These guyswere magi after all!G.o.dou shivered in fear. Barehanded attacks aside, bladed weapons andfirearms would not simply end with "Ouch!" -- No, he was certain he hadhad enough, he did not want to experience this any further.In order to penetrate this encirclement, what should he do!? The instant hethought that, G.o.dou sprang into action."The one unblunted and unapproachable! Oath-breaking sinners bepurged by the iron hammer of justice!"This should be usable -- the incarnation that came to mind, was instantlysummoned.Affected by the spell words, the river water below showed a murky blackcolor. This black color scattered blue-black sparks as it took form.Verethragna"s fifth incarnation, the [Boar].The 20m black divine beast which could only be summoned by a wish todestroy a ma.s.sive target. In any case, it was summoned for the purpose ofsending this bridge flying."Uwaaaaaaaaaah!?"Seeing the divine beast manifesting before their eyes, the seven-man teamcried out simultaneously.The [Boar] proceeded to roar as usual.ROOOOOAAAAAAR!Roaring, the [Boar] jumped vertically.Under the impact of the casual headb.u.t.t -- like smashing paper craft, thesteel bridge was demolished. With excess momentum, the beast"s majesticform continued flying several dozen meters up, displayed against the nightsky of Tokyo"s Adachi special ward.Furthermore, the [Boar]"s howls caused destruction like supersonic waves.The booming roars shattered all the gla.s.s in the neighboring residentialstreets with resounding crashes.The seven-man team were sent flying as if struck by a sonic wave andswept beneath the collapsing bridge -- the river sh.o.r.e. A few unlucky onesfell directly into the polluted waters.As a side note, G.o.dou the summoner had already hurried down to the riversh.o.r.e for shelter.When the [Boar] began to leap, he had quickly jumped down from thebridge."We are so sorry!""Really sorry!""In regards to this foolish act, please spare our insignificant lives!""For the sake of my family and kin, please forgive me!"The battle(?) on the bridge had ended.As firefighters, police and nearby residents converged at the site of theincident, G.o.dou and the seven men escaped to a certain park. Then theseven men suddenly prostrated themselves on the ground in "dogeza."^Apparently they were aware of "dogeza" as the highest form of apology.By the way, these guys were all speaking in Italian. After they removedthose idiotic masks, G.o.dou was surprised by their unexpectedly youthfulfaces. They seemed to be a bunch ranging in age from late teens to earlytwenties. Rather than a team of magi, they resembled a gang ofdelinquents more..."In the end, I retaliated(?), so let"s just leave it as a draw. But you guys,why did you have to dress up like that?"G.o.dou questioned them as they huddled their ma.s.sive physiques in"dogeza.""Even if you kidnapped me for a ransom, my family doesn"t have money --actually that"s not right. Rather, I think my mom will flatly refuse. After all,she is the type of mother who would tell me "I don"t want to spend money,so you"d better find a way out yourself even if I were a hostage...""Ah, no. This isn"t our purpose.""Yes, in fact we"re from Milan. Some rumors are currently circulating aboutKusanagi-sama over there.""Rumors? What do you mean?"Informed in polite Italian, G.o.dou frowned."These are still unsubstantiated... But anyway, recently a j.a.panese maleresembling a [King] was spotted around southern Italy, fighting a G.o.d.Then our alliance leader, Sir Salvatore, said "Someone caused a ruckus onmy turf" and expressed great anger.""Sir Salvatore... Ah, that guy. But why is he angry?"Recalling the frivolous smiling face of the young man he met at the airport,G.o.dou did not think he was angry."Because Sir Salvatore is a warrior amongst warriors. He is a great manwho never gives up on a fight whenever a [Heretic G.o.d] appears. Hence,he should be angry because his rightful foe was stolen byKusanagi-sama.""A warrior amongst warriors!?"Compared to his impression of the character named Salvatore Doni, therewas no description further from the truth.G.o.dou reflexively answered "You must be kidding!" However, thatcylindrical case -- G.o.dou recalled the dangerous impression he had felt.Did his instincts as a Campione discern the man"s true nature, thus givingwarning...?"So, you people are under that man"s orders to attack me?""Yeah... That"s right."Receiving such a subtle answer, G.o.dou glared each man in the face inturn, putting on a straight face and said "And then?" This immediatelyobtained results."S-Sir Salvatore commanded the [Copper Black Cross] which had helpedKusanagi-sama locally -- in other words, our superiors. His orders were tobring j.a.pan"s king, Kusanagi G.o.dou, back to him by any meansnecessary."Rather than being scared of G.o.dou, it seemed like it was the result of thenotoriety of the Devil Kings.G.o.dou was surprised by the frantic confession of the leader of the sevenmen."Eh? So you guys are comrades of Erica!?""Not comrades but subordinates from a lower branch of the organization. Agroup responsible for ch.o.r.es and dirty jobs ordered from above.""Feels kind of like a yakuza hierarchy..."Imagining various yakuza gangs, G.o.dou nodded."As expected, the brutal act of subduing a Devil King Campione by "force"is judged as too risky for proper members by our superiors -- the [CopperBlack Cross] themselves... Hence, we were sent instead.""But why do you have to use force? Couldn"t you have negotiated bytalking or in writing?"For G.o.dou, this was intended as a serious suggestion.But the seven men instantly showed gloomy expressions."How should I put it, we will be done in by the Devil King.""A man who can even slay a G.o.d. The kind of anger they exhibit whenroused would be impossible for us to imagine. Same for the currentKusanagi-sama--""Eh, me? I think I"m quite a mild, or even unexpectedly gentle person,right...""What are you talking about? In order to defeat us, you were cruel enoughto unleash a divine beast -- as expected of a young king. A savage warriorstanding on equal ground with Sir Salvatore, we are all utterly impressed.""...Also, about Erica."G.o.dou had not felt these kinds of fearful and terrified stares since Sicily.Uncomfortable with that feeling, G.o.dou changed the subject."If she was involved, she should have proposed a milder plan of approach,so what is she doing now? Especially when I am just a phone call away."Before they parted, they had exchanged contact information.Even though G.o.dou had not contacted her because he was embarra.s.sedto call or message a girl, he did not expect Erica to be equally indecisive."Our lady -- Dame Blandelli was prosecuted for a.s.sisting Kusanagi-sama,and is currently under house arrest until Sir Salvatore"s rage subsides.""House arrest?"G.o.dou pondered as he listened to the explanations of the young menprostrated on the ground before him.This situation was not good--References1 . t Dogeza(±TH): literally "sitting right on the ground," an elementof j.a.panese manners by kneeling directly on the ground and bowing toprostrate oneself as touching one"s head to thefloor. wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogeza