Chapter 2 - Fated EncountersPart 1The Sardinia autonomous region consists of the island of Sardinia and thesurrounding islands.The capital city Cagliari is a port located on the south of the island, andwas first constructed by Phoenicians in the eighth century BCE.Even in Europe which had incomparably many ancient capitals relative toj.a.pan, ancient streets dating back to such historical origins were very rare.This was a relaxing street in the countryside, near the calm Mediterranean.This was also G.o.dou"s first impression of Cagliari."...I"ll have a stroll in this little town for today, then take the train tomorrowto the town where Lucretia-san lives."G.o.dou was at the hotel room booked by his grandfather in j.a.pan.Though it was just a little three-story inn, its facilities were well-provided,and extremely clean though not very luxurious.G.o.dou sat on the bed, browsing webpages for maps and travel guidesabout Sardinia, making his plans for the next few days.The town where his grandfather"s "friend" lived was located in the center ofthe island. G.o.dou decided to take a break here for today, since his bodyneeded time to recover from the jet lag and the fatigue from air travel.Having thus decided, G.o.dou looked out the window.It was slightly after one in the afternoon, and the Mediterranean sun gaveoff bright rays. The clear blue sky had not a single cloud. This kind of wideunrestricted view was not something that can be found in j.a.panesescenery.If he didn"t go out to enjoy the scenery, it would be too much of a shame.As excited as if he was witnessing a sunrise, G.o.dou decided to walk outthe door and leave the room to have a look.If he wanted to rest, he could do that in the evening. After all, he alreadycame all this way, why not go outside and have a look?Leaving his luggage in the room, G.o.dou left the inn.In order to dispel the sleepiness, let"s first find a coffee shop (the Italiansseemed to call them cafes) and get a coffee and some snacks. Thinkingthat, G.o.dou surveyed the surroundings, but all the shops in view had theirdoors shut.Just as G.o.dou was feeling puzzled, he suddenly remembered.Now was the time for siesta — the afternoon nap. Though the practice wasno longer common in cities like Rome and Milan, it wasn"t so in a place likethis.Still, not all shops were on break.After walking a little more, a coffee shop open for business was found on alittle street.G.o.dou"s Italian consisted of the basics he learnt from the tourist guide heread on the plane, or rather, the vague impressions he retained from that.But G.o.dou was not a person who fretted the small details, and it waspointless to be scared in this place. Besides, staff in this vacation spotshould be used to travelers, so G.o.dou boldly stepped into the shop....It happened once before, at a little stall in Thailand. G.o.dou hadunwittingly ordered and eaten some super spicy fried noodles. It served asa memory of his travels.The decor of the shop was rather plain.There were only six or seven customers, all middle aged men or older.No one dressed fashionably and they all had casual attire and looked veryrelaxed.They were gathered in the interior of the shop, watching a broadcastedfootball match on an old CRT television.G.o.dou walked towards the bar.The bartender who greeted him was a twenty-something-year-old youth.G.o.dou felt a little relieved, for no matter what country, the likelihood ofsomeone being competent in English was highest amongst the youngergeneration... Of course, there were also many exceptions.G.o.dou used his broken Italian, aided by appropriate English to converse.It was exceedingly simple to order a cup of Espresso, but ordering foodwas very difficult, because even if you looked at the menu, it wasimpossible to imagine what the food looked like.G.o.dou looked towards those elderly men, and pointed to the Italian paninisandwich one of them was eating.Give me the same thing — that was how he ordered. The friendly Italianyouth only repeated the words "OK" throughout the entire process.G.o.dou poured two packets of sugar into the fresh coffee.This was because he once heard that pouring a large amount of sugar wasthe Italian way. The rich and sweet flavor was quite agreeable after all.As he pondered over this ordinary taste, G.o.dou was shocked as he bit intothe panini.In between the two pieces of bread were prosciutto ham, cheese, as wellas a kind of lettuce called rucola. However, the bread, the ham and thecheese were all particularly rich in flavor. This was absolutely delicious!After he finished, G.o.dou thanked the youth, settled his bill and left thecoffee shop.Then G.o.dou began taking a casual walk around town.Sometimes he would take out the map and ask pa.s.sersby for directions.In j.a.pan, European and American tourists were unafraid of asking thelocals for directions, so G.o.dou decided to imitate them. He tried to askthose who looked leisurely, so as to minimize the chances of hinderingsomeone.Even though the local language wasn"t English, communicating throughgestures on the map was enough for G.o.dou to understand other people.Wanting to see the ocean, G.o.dou walked towards Cagliari bay.Hanging throughout the narrow streets were fresh laundry.Seeing these peaceful scenes, G.o.dou"s mood was very relaxed as hereached a giant church — the plaza of a Duomo cathedral. He took a shortstroll there, and then left the beautiful plaza.Starting from there, he could see Cagliari bay.Looking into the distance, the sea stretched from one end of the horizon toanother, beautiful as an emerald. This kind of beautiful ocean wasimpossible to see in Tokyo, and G.o.dou felt his heart getting excited andhis footsteps quickened.Walking down a street called Via Roma, he hurried towards the sea.Part 2It was while G.o.dou was taking a stroll along the sea side when heencountered the youth.A youth was leaning against the wall of a building that resembled awarehouse, looking towards the ocean that he faced.He gave off a strangely wonderful feeling.It would be rude to call his attire unkempt, but that was the impressiongiven by his coat. What was probably once a white coat, was now a dirtybrown in color. The clothing itself was a bit tattered. Rather than somethingone would wear on this street on the sea side, it was more like somethingyou"d find at a desert oasis.Without any doubt, he was about the same age as G.o.dou.Around fourteen or fifteen years in age, with jet black hair to his shoulders,skin the color of ivory, and most important of all, he was extremelyhandsome.G.o.dou could not help but feel drawn to him. There was a kind ofandrogyny to his facial features, and even among celebrities, G.o.dou hasnever seen a handsome youth like the one before him.— Suddenly, the youth"s gaze began to shift.As if noticing G.o.dou staring at him, he also looked straight back.And then he smiled.It was very common for Europeans and Americans to greet others with asmile the first time they meet someone and exchange glances, so G.o.doupresumed the youth was saying h.e.l.lo to him."x.x.xx, xx, x.x.xx.x.x... x.x.xx.x.x."He was using a language G.o.dou had never heard before.It shouldn"t be English, but G.o.dou did not have the confidence to becertain of that. Though Italian was easily understood once the vowels wereemphasized, but there were many sounds which were difficult forj.a.panese ears to discern."I"m sorry, I can"t understand what you are saying."Hence G.o.dou could only use j.a.panese, shrugging his shoulders inresponse.In the situation of communicating as a foreigner, if gestures and facialexpressions failed to communicate, then it was better to give up."Oh, my apologies, then I shall use thy way of speaking."Suddenly, he was answering G.o.dou with fluent j.a.panese.G.o.dou was speechless but could only stare at the youth"s face."Well, hardly of significance, but a strange taste — no, dare I saysmell — hangeth around thee, catching my attention, thus I spoke to thee."The youth"s voice was slightly lower than a tenor and was probably in thebaritone range."A taste... I don"t think I"m that dirty, does it smell bad?""Payest no heed to it, I a.s.sume I have made a fool of myself, to haveasked such a strange question."The youth spoke openly as he watched G.o.dou checking himself out.To ask such an embarra.s.sing question right from the start, but then theyouth did not seem to be malicious. Those words could have angered theother person, but somehow the youth did not cause a sense ofdispleasure, was it a question of character?"Boy, acceptest mine apology for my misspoken words. Pray forgivest me,I mean thee no offense."The youth smiled lightly.His narrow eyes became even more so, and his lips curved.A very cla.s.sical smile. Rather it should be described as a smile as subtleas mist."You really don"t sound like you"re apologizing, and why are you calling me"boy"?"His features were very handsome, but his tone was rather arrogant, andfelt like a superior talking to someone beneath his station. He was clearlyabout the same age, but he was calling me "boy."G.o.dou felt incredulous at this sense of imbalance.Clearly he could speak j.a.panese fluently. Was it possible that hisj.a.panese usage was not learned through regular methods?"Though I think it"s amazing how well you can speak j.a.panese, your usageis a little bit strange.""Worriest not these little things. As long as communication is accomplishedby speaking, it is agreeable."He replied with a calm tone.The strange youth"s explanation made G.o.dou smile wryly, but G.o.dou wasextremely concerned about his irregular j.a.panese."So, did you learn j.a.panese from watching stuff like dramas in ancientsettings?""Never have I heard of that. This language, when was the time I learned it?No matter, it is of no consequence, as long as we can communicate.""Then what is your name? My name is Kusanagi G.o.dou. I think youalready know, but I"m from j.a.pan.""Of course I remember, my name, my birthplace... Eh, what is it?"The youth spoke very casually.But to this sudden unexpected answer, G.o.dou was speechless."...Umm, may I ask, was your amnesia just now a joke?""Of course it is amnesia. Correct, I have lost all memories of the past. Atroublesome condition, and most vexing."Though G.o.dou still felt the youth was joking, he still made a suggestion."If you really lost your memory, let me accompany you to the police or ahospital.""Unnecessary, though I have neither knowledge of my name nor origin,there is no immediate problem. All I need to know is the most importantthing about myself.""The most important thing?"This was a strange person. Confirming this in his heart, G.o.dou continuedto question.Whether or not he was speaking the truth all along, this youth definitelycounted as a "super" strange person. How expected of foreign lands, withvastly increased chances of meeting weirdos."Yes, I am the victor. Victory is always in my hands. That is my nature.Facing any kind of conflict or enemy, unchangeable and unshakeable ismy victory.""...Really."This extremely arrogant declaration was uttered from the youth"s mouthcalmly and simply.This guy"s speech is completely unpredictable. Though G.o.dou was slightlytaken aback, he also felt a little impressed."It is true, I have long sought the taste of defeat for all this time, but nonehath ever prevailed against me. By the way, whenever I start fighting I losemyself, and cannot avoid getting all serious..."Sighing as he gazed into the distance, the youth suddenly made asuggestion to G.o.dou:"How about it? Art thou interested in competing against me? Canst thouamuse me for a while?""Anything, as long as thou art good at it. Games, martial arts, a battle ofwits, horse riding, anything. By the way, this place seemeth to be nearGreece, I remember that country hath a kind of compet.i.tion that made useof the entire body, rather interesting. Dost thou have something thou artgood at?"Issued a challenge like that, of course one couldn"t back down.And so G.o.dou and the youth began to search for a place that could beused for them to compete.Walking near the port, the two of them soon reached a corner of an emptyfield. Gathered there were about ten-odd youngsters who worked at thepier. They were playing street football, probably during a break or afterwork.This was probably their playground.Fishing nets were hung everywhere, and seemed to be used as footballgoals.Right now there were two nets in use, and two teams were competing. Atone of the temporary goals, G.o.dou found a set of rather familiarequipment.A baseball and a metal bat, as well as several baseball gloves."...Come to think of it, professional baseball also exists in Italy."Recalling this, G.o.dou began to mutter to himself.Compared to the overwhelming popularity of football, baseball was like aflickering candle in the wind. The level of professionals was also ratherdismal, but at least the sport existed."Oh, thy talent lieth yonder, I look forward to it.""Ah, no, that"s..."Taking notice, the youth walked towards the equipment.Though for an instant G.o.dou wanted to stop him, but he quickly gave up.After all what was to follow was a low level compet.i.tion. It was unlikely toworsen the condition of his shoulder.During this time, the youth had already started conversing with the group ofyoungsters in fluent Italian.Probably negotiating with the youngsters to borrow the equipment. Notlong after, the youth made a thumbs-up sign and smiled. Negotiationsuccessful."Good, preparations are complete. Pray tellest me, how is this played?""Oh, one side pitches the ball while the other strikes it with the bat."Catching the ball thrown by the youth, G.o.dou explained....This feeling from so many months ago.G.o.dou looked at the baseball clutched in his right hand.The powerful shoulder which denied base stealing even from relativelyformidable runners... G.o.dou had already lost it."...Yes, it appeareth thou art more suited for this side."Watching the hesitating G.o.dou, the youth tossed the bat over."It is fine to sigh over an old injury, but treatest it not as a mark of shame.Getting injured is a natural part of the warrior"s path. Only those who dothnot fight remaineth uninjured. This is proof of thy past battles. "How does this guy know about my injury?G.o.dou stared at the youth"s face, shocked, but his opponent was notshowing any pity in his expression.Pity... Faced with a constant barrage these past few months, all he coulddo was act troubled and thankful with a superficial response like "what adisaster..." It felt terrible, but somehow this youth did not make him feel thatway.Those extremely cool eyes carried an intense sense of pride.What kind of person would have eyes like those?Solemn and majestic. This was a warrior — as described by the youthhimself."Hoho, actest not surprised. I am the one embodying battle and victory. Aslong as thou hast obtained results through battle, be they good or bad, Ican discern it. Boy, there exist warriors who continueth fighting in spite ofwounds or over exhaustion. There was once this person who judged it timeto throw down their weapon, but that fellow choseth not to run. A truewarrior."The youth smiled, but not in the faint and distant manner just now, butrather grotesquely. It was the first time for G.o.dou to see such a smile.Silently he accepted the bat. Who is going to lose to you? For somereason, his heart kept repeating that line."Excellent! Good boy, good warrior! Quick, makest haste and beginest thematch!"Once again, he returned to a child-like demeanor.It was also the first time for G.o.dou to meet an opponent who went throughso many facial expressions so quickly.G.o.dou gradually began to take an interest in him."OK, then I will hit the b.a.l.l.s you pitch. If the ball is thrown somewherebeyond my reach it"s invalid. If I swing the bat and either miss or hit a ballrolling on the ground, then I lose for that pitch. How"s that?""Soundeth disadvantageous for you, wilt thou be fine? I am very strong."The two gazed at each other and smiled happily.Who would have predicted one day I would pick up a baseball bat again inthis foreign land?The unexpected match gradually made G.o.dou excited.Part 3The result of the match was very surprising.G.o.dou was able to hit the first few b.a.l.l.s and was winning in the beginning,but he began to lose, all the way to the end.The youth was throwing the white ball with a very sloppy posture.However, the b.a.l.l.s flew hard and fast. In terms of control, their trajectoriescould also be described as no less than perfect.Even amongst those of G.o.dou"s generation, no other pitcher could throwsuch b.a.l.l.s. Middle school"s Miura who greatly surpa.s.sed G.o.dou in naturaltalent, as well as the monstrous pitchers he met on trips to Korea andTaiwan, none of them were able to hold a candle to this youth on the islandof Sardinia.His height not quite 170cm, the youth also had a very slim build.However, the strength of his pitches cannot be matched."Are you sure you"ve never played baseball before?""Yes, today is the first time, and it seemeth rather amusing."With over thirty b.a.l.l.s pitched, the vast majority ended in missed swings.The youth"s pitching posture was without a doubt improvised, and he didnot appear to have any prior training. However, his actions looked sonatural.Clearly so random, but his motions were very elegant, and the result werestraight fastb.a.l.l.s with substantial power.After the bat missed, the b.a.l.l.s continued with momentum that seemed as ifit would break the fishing net."d.a.m.n it, it"s no good, can we have a break? Let me come up with astrategy."Beginning to pant, G.o.dou asked for a time out.Genius? Was this what one called a real genius? No, G.o.dou felt it wasn"t.The youth before him who claimed amnesia was not someone who couldbe described so easily with a simple noun — there was a feeling ofsomething out of the ordinary here.But no matter how fast the b.a.l.l.s flew, they weren"t completely impossible tohit.The first step is to get the eyes used to that level of speed. That said, evenwhen he was the fourth hitter, G.o.dou was unable to hit straight fastb.a.l.l.sthrown with such power. What should he do?"Hohoho, panickest not. I am the one who is strongest and defeats allopponents. I merely wish to have a good battle, so please takest as muchtime to think as thou needst."Clearly words of such arrogance, but G.o.dou could not find a retort.In addition, the youth looked as if he wasn"t even trying — G.o.dou could notaccept losing like this, he must find a way to turn things around!...Though the nearby youngsters were playing football some distanceaway, the youth"s pitches were too amazing, and very soon, all of themhad gathered beside him to watch.Seeing G.o.dou taking a break, they slowly surrounded him.And then the youngsters of Cagliari also took part in the compet.i.tion.Still, no one could beat the youth. Let alone scoring a good hit, eventouching the ball was impossible for them."Who the heck was that guy...? If someone described him as inhuman, it"sbelievable."After pitching over a hundred powerful fastb.a.l.l.s, the youth"s breathingremained regular.Neither did the power of control of the pitches waver.Watching the youth defeat the local youngsters so easily, G.o.dou was veryshocked.Soon after, it looked like they were preparing to play football. The Italianyoung men put their arms around G.o.dou and the youth"s shoulders andwalked towards the football."Hey, could you ask them a question for me. Is this OK for them not to goto work? It looks like they are playing too much.""Freteth not such minor matters... This couldeth be their way of doingthings, is there not a saying "do as the Romans do"? Thou goest andenjoyest thyself."Seeing G.o.dou worry, the youth smiled candidly."Fine, whatever." Feeling that brisk Latin atmosphere, G.o.dou gave up onthe answer.Perhaps it was because he had grown accustomed to the ridiculouspersonalities of his grandfather and mother, as well as the influence of theirfriends. Though G.o.dou thought himself to have a very serious character,he found himself possessing rather generous tolerance to meeting such afrivolous and strange character.If so, just do as the youth suggests and don"t over think things, go have funwithout worry.Wearing either t-shirts or vests, the Italian young men were most likelylaborers. In other words, the majority of them were strongly built with arms,heads and backs akin to the statue of David. For an instant, G.o.dou feltintimidated but he immediately got used to it.G.o.dou and the youth joined the same team, and started playing streetfootball.Even in football, no one could defeat the youth.Nimbly weaving the ball through his opponents, a.s.sisting his teammatesnear the goal by pa.s.sing the ball through the narrowest of openings, andpersonally scoring spectacular goals. Though he called it "my first time" let"sjust ignore that. Anyway, that was the kind of performance he gave.In the endgame, the youth took the ball past five defenders and ended thematch with a perfect curve ball shot at goal. His figure was like a G.o.d"s."Fantastico! Fantastico! Figlio Del Sole!" [1]A most emotional youth cried out.Ending the match without any regrets, the group surrounded the youth,cheering with smiling faces and emotional tears. Lavishing him with Latinstyle praise such as calling him a genius and born of the sun.Soon, the sky gradually darkened.The slowly setting sun gave the harbor a shade of orange, and the two ofthem bid the Italian youths farewell. (In the end, they showed no signs ofgetting back to work, so it was pointless to ask.)The youth traded glances with G.o.dou, and they smiled at each other."...Though it was a strange day, but I was very happy. How about you?""I too am happy. Such games are not bad once in a while."G.o.dou who never thought himself the sociable type, was surprised to findhimself getting so familiar with the youth in such a short time, without evenknowing his name.However, it was not an unpleasant feeling.It felt like the days when he was still playing baseball and getting alongwith this team mates...That was the kind of friendly feeling he got from this youth."I will be travelling inland tomorrow. What are you going to do next? If youplan on staying here for a while, let"s meet again when I come back.""Yes, I too have things that I must do...""Didn"t you say you lost your memory, what are you planning on doing?What"s the matter, just play football with those people just now. Or maybeeven a proper baseball game with nine players on each side, but a muchwider s.p.a.ce than this pier would be needed.""Oh? Thou hast lost the match, yet thou hast not learnt thy lesson?"The two chatted and laughed together.Sunset on a harbor street.A little sea side road illuminated a bright shade of orange.The day was about to end. If possible, G.o.dou really wanted to spend moretime with this youth. Consumed with that thought, he became even moretalkative.Which was why he failed to notice the shadow in the road ahead.This shadow was in the shape of a beautiful young lady.By the time G.o.dou noticed her, she had already begun the conversation."Excuse me, the person who is walking there — I"m very sorry for thesudden intrusion, but I have something to ask."It was being said in Italian.Of course, G.o.dou completely failed to understand, but at that moment hisattention was completely drawn by the girl who appeared before him.Just barely over 160cm, her height was not especially tall for Europeanstandards. However, there was a certain sense of dignity, how should oneput it? Proud like a queen, standing there with such an imposing presence.Her long blonde hair fluttered against the sea breeze.Dressed in red, under the glow of the orange sunset and in contrast to herlong blonde hair, the impression of the red color was especially intensified.Red like a burning flame and hair the color of gold, it was like the crown ofa warrior, majestically perched upon her head.However, all this aside — the most important feature was the girl"s beauty,from which G.o.dou could not tear his eyes away.Beautiful features as if the result of delicate craftsmanship, betterproportioned than any doll, livelier than any model or actress, andcompletely saturated with n.o.bility and self-confidence, it was a face onecould never forget after seeing once."Please tell me all about the G.o.d that has appeared on this island. Myname is Erica Blandelli. Consider it a return gift, as there is no need for youtwo to report your names."After a few days, it finally occurred to G.o.dou.If he knew she would say something so arrogant, he would never have lethimself be attracted to her.Part 4"...Hey, what is that girl saying? She looks very serious.""She wanteth us to confess everything we know. Simply put, it is a threat.""Threat?"This dialogue between G.o.dou and the youth, took place in j.a.panese ofcourse.Hearing that, the blonde young beauty frowned with displeasure.For even this kind of expression to be beautiful as a painting, this girl wasvery amazing.Wearing a red top with black shorts, her clothing was a little ordinarydespite her great beauty. However, due to the tasteful combination it feltvery natural and unfettered, perhaps it was her unparalleled beauty andfigure that caused one"s opinion of her attire to improve."...All roads lead to Rome. Do as the Romans do. What regrettablesayings. You are too foolish to come here with clearly no knowledge ofItalian."The girl spoke again, a little furious.Ignoring the rather rude content, this time she spoke with very fluentj.a.panese. Perhaps she was in a bad mood because her cool entrancewas spoiled."I would like to ask you about the [Heretic G.o.d] incidents that appeared allover the island of Sardinia about three days ago. Bosa, Orgosolo,Barumini... You were sighted in all the places where divine presences wereconfirmed. This cannot be coincidence, right?"The girl finished speaking and looked at the youth beside G.o.dou.The places she mentioned were most likely locations on the island ofSardinia. Then that "you" she was referring to must be that youth.Then again, what did she mean by [G.o.d]? Completely baffling."I am Erica Blandelli, Great Knight of the magic a.s.sociation Copper BlackCross of Milan. Even in this remote place in the south, there are membersof our a.s.sociation, and the person sighted I mentioned just now is him."Magic a.s.sociation and G.o.d. Hearing these strange terms, G.o.dou felttroubled.However, her tone of voice was too natural, and surprisingly there was nosense of dissonance." — Who on earth are you? Though it isn"t apparent, could you be a mage?A priest or deacon of some religion? If that"s the case, there is nothingunusual about successfully summoning a [Heretic G.o.d] by chance.Anything wrong with my speculation?"Erica Blandelli was smiling with great arrogance.This was the first time G.o.dou ever saw such a conceited smile on awoman. How could she be so haughty, yet so glamorous at the sametime? G.o.dou couldn"t help but sigh at those two points."Ah, I"ve waited for you for so long, and yet you respond with silence? Noother way then, peaceful negotiations end here and it"s time for battle.Trying to talk sense into people who cannot communicate is like castingpearls before swine."With such instigating tones, how was it ever peaceful in the first place?And then Erica continued:"Come, lion of steel. The one carrying the spirit of the lion, the steel thatcarries the essence of battle! Respond to my hand and voice! Your nameis Cuore di Leone... The warrior inheriting the name of the lion-heartedking!"What happened in the next instant, completely overturned G.o.dou"scommon sense."The knight Erica Blandelli swears thus, I will return your loyalty with myvalor and chivalry!"The sword that suddenly appeared.The silver body of the blade was slender and elegant, like a beam of clearlight bathed in the rays of the setting sun."If you are someone involved with G.o.ds, you must have heard of themighty names of Erica Blandelli and Cuore di Leone? I have no wish touse the red and black techniques against a n.o.body. Hurry up and tell meall you know with efficiency, swiftly and obediently."And then, Erica thrust forward before her the sword that was like a piece ofart.Of course, it was targeting G.o.dou and the youth who showed a faint smile."...What was that just now? Is that a parlor trick?""Thou mayst consider that level of magic a parlor trick. It is not aparticularly amazing spell."Sword, G.o.d, knight, magic, mage — ! Come on, what were all these terms.G.o.dou was very surprised. This was twenty-first century Italy, not medievalEurope during the dark ages. How could all these unreal terms appear?"Thou art an unruly little lady. To point a sword at me, even for warriors inthe past, none have dared such barbaric acts towards me. The ignorantare truly terrifying.""Ah, so confident in your own abilities?"Towards the wryly smiling youth, Erica proudly puffed her chest.The tip of the sword was waving about like the tail of an animal. Evensomeone like G.o.dou who knew nothing about swordsmanship could tellthat it was the motions of an impending attack."If you"d like, I can prepare a sword for you. I, Erica Blandelli, will never letanyone escape from a duel of the sword. What do you say?"Hearing her conceited words, G.o.dou swallowed a mouthful of air.From the sword stance of this beautiful girl, she should be very skilled.Only someone who had reached a certain level of mastery could havesuch elegant poise, a functional beauty resulting from eschewing all of theunnecessary. G.o.dou could feel that this level of cool and imposingpresence could not be simply the result of a beautiful appearance."Thy proposal interests me, but sadly enough, I have no leisure to spare.""I see. There has never been a person who refused my invitation. To thinkI would have a first experience of rejection in such a place, how insulting.""Hoho, thou shouldst not say it so, I shall play with thee one day. Butnow — "The youth said to the elegant but regrettable Erica:"A more troublesome fellow is coming!"A sudden development occurred immediately afterwards.BOOOOM!!An extremely loud explosion was heard.To G.o.dou who was already greatly shocked by the events so far —He was now doubting his own sanity, but who could blame him?A gigantic [Boar] roughly fifty meters in body length had suddenlyappeared in the sea, and was landing on the coast in a very strenuousmanner, knocking over the surrounding buildings.This kind of scene was appearing before his eyes.Not only G.o.dou, but the sword-wielding Erica was also frozen.What was this? Could a scene seemingly from a monster movie be reality?Totally at loss, G.o.dou found his hand being grabbed at that instant."Hey, boy, runnest! Makest haste and escapest!"The youth yelled as he ran, pulling G.o.dou by the hand.In order to numb his thoughts, G.o.dou followed and ran without thinking. Sowhen he finally became aware of the dreadful conditions they were runningtowards, he broke out in cold sweat."W-Wait! That direction you"re running towards is too dangerous!""No matter what, our escape route was blocked by the sword. This is theso-called tiger at the front door, and something at the back. Makest thydecision quickly! Only by charging into danger can there be chances ofsurvival."Even under these circ.u.mstances, the youth was yelling joyfully.The place where G.o.dou was being led to was exactly where the [Boar]was rampaging.Probably the most dangerous place in Cagliari at the moment."W-Wait up! I have unfinished business — ""If fate allows it, we will meet again! Goodbye!"Miss Erica seemed to be yelling something, but the youth continued pullingG.o.dou"s hand as they ran.The fur and hide of the gigantic [Boar], was as jet black as darkness itself.Whenever the black giant beast stepped upon the ground of the harbor,the earth shook violently."Roar!" Every time it howled, windows in buildings vibrated, and thenshattered.Whenever it charged, multiple buildings or warehouses were demolishedlike small scale miniature models.From somewhere a fire started.Probably flammable oil kept in some storage.The disastrous fire gradually spread, and the harbor looked as if it wasbeing licked by crimson tongues, then swallowed. Slowly the fire grew to apoint where it looked like everything was going to be burned down."...Thanks to this great fire, that troublesome woman probably gave up."G.o.dou stared at the burning blaze as he spoke with a bitter face.The girl called Erica had disappeared in the smoke about ten minutes ago.Seeing that she has not followed, perhaps it was time to head towards asafe direction.Currently, G.o.dou and the youth"s location was at a corner in the harborsurrounded by fire.Though there was no immediate danger, the fire was gradually spreading.Furthermore, a couple hundred meters forward was the most terrifying[Boar].All surrounding buildings that could be destroyed were already gone, butthe beast did not charge over here. If it were to do so, G.o.dou and theyouth would probably have their lives snuffed out like candles in the wind."If this continues, we are going to be burned to death. How could we haveescaped to such a place?""If we escape before the flames devour us, there is no problem — that is thetruth."Retorting against G.o.dou"s complaints, the youth was surveying thesurroundings.Annoyingly, the guy"s handsome face still carried a relaxed expression.Despite the ma.s.sive fire burning away so near, the youth did not havesingle drop of sweat. In contrast to G.o.dou who was soiled by sweat andash, the youth maintained his pure and pristine look."Starting from just now, what are you doing? It looks very strange, didsomething happen?""Yes. Actually I heard cries for help, it should not be my imagination."G.o.dou perked his ears but could not hear anything similar."I can"t hear anything like that. You must be mistaken.""No, impossible — I see!"Suddenly the youth began to take action.The direction he was heading towards, was exactly the place the giant[Boar] was destroying."Where are you going? That place is dangerous.""Haha, if thou art afraid, pray returnest first. Forcest thyself not!"The youth smiled as he charged forward.G.o.dou hesitated for an instant, and then ran in pursuit.If they separated now, very likely he would not see him again. Mostimportantly, he had to carefully witness the reckless actions of this youth,thus G.o.dou decided.Running after the youth, G.o.dou strove to move his footsteps.Weaving through debris, kicking away stones, avoiding the scorchingflames, coughing and tearful from smoke inhalation, and overcoming manydifficulties, they ran for about five minutes.The youth finally stopped.His path ahead was blocked by many collapsed piles of constructionmaterials.About an hour ago, these construction materials were piled in neat stacksup to roof height along the rows of warehouses.However, it was now a mountain of debris, and the intense fire wasdevouring the surroundings. The present challenge was most difficult toovercome.Without appropriate equipment, there was no way to advance.At this time, G.o.dou noticed there were human voices on the opposite side,crying and calling for help.From the sound, it was probably not just one person, but several or even acouple dozen."Hey, boy. Thou recallest this location? This was the place where we wereplaying."The youth"s sudden question made G.o.dou instantly remember.It was just as he said, this was the empty field where they had beenplaying football with the young men near the pier several tens of minutesago. The warehouse had collapsed, mostly due to the [Boarj"s rampage.Then it later caught fire, resulting in the current situation."Those fellows likely failed to escape in time, and could only cry for help insorrowful voices.""Those fellows? ...Could it be the ones we were just playing with at thepier!?""Yes, the same. The ones we met are crying for help, and their voiceshave reached mine ears. This is one of my abilities, no mistake about it."Beyond the ma.s.sive pile of debris, something like Italian voices could beheard.Of course, the meanings were unknown, but it was easy to imagine themas cries for help.G.o.dou tried to find an alternate path around the debris, but wasunsuccessful.G.o.dou tried to find a path through the debris, but was unsuccessful.G.o.dou tried to find a way to avoid the burning heat, but was unsuccessful.Complete failure!"What should I do?! How can they be saved?!"He couldn"t help roaring in anger.Disregarding the burning fire, there was also the [Boar] several dozens ofmetres ahead, engaged in destruction. G.o.dou felt indignant. Due to thatmonster, how many people have been sacrificed?Thinking that, his heart lit up in anger.Watching G.o.dou, the youth smiled smoothly."Thou seekest to save others before securing thy own safe escape. Thouart a boy with admirable qualities. Thy sense of justice is worthy of tenpoems of praise bestowed by me.""Idiot, is this the time and place for something like that? Don"t joke withme!""I jest not. I shall save those fellows, restest a.s.sured... Boy, though theduration was short, but I am happy. Thou hath my thanks."The red flames illuminated the handsome face of the youth.Noticing a sense of solemnity, G.o.dou was silent. What on earth, what wasgoing on with this guy? Why was there such a sudden feeling ofgreatness? — It was very strange."Hoho, to have amused myself so much with a brat amongst the mortals,was truly unexpected. On a whim, I could not help but lead him around forfun, but it is almost the end. I must finish my mission. If fate willeth, let usmeet again. May peace be with thee."The youth who should be shorter than G.o.dou, was somehow lookingdownwards at G.o.dou.However, there was no sense of dissonance.The youth before him currently gave off a very admirable and blindinglybrilliant feeling, and it was impossible to think he was an ordinary human.He must be a very special existence."Thou mayst leave now, boy. The direction thou followest hath no vortex offlame, only stable mortal life. Righteous character will not lose the light"sblessing, thou shouldst go straight ahead. "And then he walked towards the debris where the people crying for helpwere.His finger pointed in the opposite direction, and then G.o.dou felt his bodyturn and walk there by itself, and then began to run! What was going on!?Shocked, G.o.dou desperately tried to stop his own footsteps.I can"t leave just like that, G.o.dou strove to resist."What a stubborn brat, thou resistest my spell words.""W-Wait a minute, give me a second. How can I run away alone? If I"mescaping you must come along, as well as the people on the other side.So—""Thy thoughts are sufficient. I do not need thy a.s.sistance, because thouwilt only get in my way. Makest haste, escapest."The youth pleaded in gentle tones."Such a shame to have lost my name. If my name was called during timesof crisis, my blessing will be obtained. If I were my past self, I would neverleave this holy phrase as parting words! So friend, I shall gift these wordsto thee — farewell! Makest haste and run!"The result was, this was the end.As the youth finished bidding farewell, G.o.dou"s legs ran automatically.Impossible to stop, impossible to resist.Fleeing from the threat of the fire and the [Boar], running at full speed in adirection where there was no road.Unable to save the youth, or those people trapped at the fire — thesethoughts made G.o.dou very depressed, but he could not stop his footsteps.Soon after, not knowing how he ran, G.o.dou escaped from the fire. For amoment he forgot his guilt for escaping by himself, and deeply exhaled inrelief.— What followed immediately was despair.At some point in time, G.o.dou had arrived at the Duomo cathedral hepa.s.sed by in the afternoon.The great cathedral standing there.The place of worship to pay respects to the divine, and offer one"s prayers.Beside the quiet and pious structure, a ma.s.sive beast stood there, severaldozens of meters tall, just as big as the Duomo cathedral — the giant black[Boar].So well-built that it looked slightly fat, with a strong and vigorous body.The unexpectedly slim limbs, and a mouth containing frighteningly largetusks.A creature completely unlike the related animals that G.o.dou knew about.No matter how lively a boar, none were as ferocious or grotesque as thisone. Its brutality made one think of a G.o.d, G.o.dou had never met anythingso frightful in his life!Compared to this stone built church, this [Boar] was the true divineexistence.G.o.d of fury, G.o.d of destruction, G.o.d of jet black darkness.Shock and awe and fear, this time G.o.dou"s body was entirely frozen.ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!ROAAAAAAR!After several roars which made the earth shake and the air tremble, the[Boar] pulverized the Duomo cathedral like an art piece made of paper.G.o.dou stared at the scene stupefied.Pieces of stone debris fell from the sky like hail.This was far too dangerous! Just as G.o.dou thought that, a gust of windblew.At first it was a light refreshing breeze, but then it immediatelystrengthened into a gale, soon turning into a tornado."...Wind? — Now wasn"t the time to be so casual!"Yelling, G.o.dou immediately left the scene from the [Boar] and the church.The strange thing that happened afterwards, probably won"t be forgottenfor a lifetime.It was a duel between the tornado and the black [Boar].In the area around the plaza of the Duomo cathedral, there were many ofCagliari"s historic buildings.Like the Torre dell"Elefante^, Torre di San Pancrazio^ and others...There were also many Gothic and Baroque churches from the MiddleAges.At the location of these historical buildings, the tornado formed just nowhad swept the giant [Boar] into the air. How strong were the winds in thistornado?Devoured by the spiraling storm, the [Boar] was suspended in midair.Surrounding it, G.o.dou witnessed the sudden arrival of golden flashes oflight. Swiftly and sharply, golden arcs sliced the [Boar]"s body into pieces.Gaaaaaaaah!The [Boar]"s roars filled the air, sounding like final death cries.Losing support, the ma.s.sive black body fell onto the ground, resulting in anextremely terrifying crash, collapsing a tower in the process, scatteringstone pieces everywhere, and demolishing many houses.And then the [Boar]"s body slowly turned into grains of sand and collapsed.The one that swept these grains of sand was the murderer — the tornado. Itgradually subsided, turning into a strong gust of wind, taking away with itthe sand which the [Boar] had turned into.What remained were the streets which had turned into h.e.l.l.Seriously damaged streets, the fire still raging at the pier, as well as peoplein chaos.People who only cared to escape. People who stood frozen. Peoplepraying to G.o.d. Crying, angry, terrified, hurt, sighing people.Amongst these crowds, G.o.dou walked by himself shakily.At some point in time, the sky had turned black. In the broken streets atnight, G.o.dou wandered aimlessly alone.What happened to that youth and the young men at the pier? He reallywanted to know they were safe. He wanted to know their current condition.Propelled by these thoughts, G.o.dou searched and wandered everywhere.In the end, he failed to meet any of them.Part 5The next morning, the newspapers at the inn gave G.o.dou a completeshock.It was a newspaper based in southern Sardinia with Cagliari as its centralfocus, but yesterday"s incident was not reported.There was a report and picture about a fire at the harbor, but after askingthe innkeeper who knew English, all G.o.dou got was an answer like"Yesterday there seemed to be a fire at the harbor area. You got caught upin it, right? How unfortunate!" And then a pat on G.o.dou"s shoulder.Asking the others, no one in the inn knew about the [Boar] or the tornado.G.o.dou wanted to ask them in detail, but his verbal expression skills werenot enough. Filled with doubt, G.o.dou settled his bill at the inn and left.Everything that happened yesterday should have been real.Anyway, let"s go to the site of the incident, so G.o.dou left for the Duomocathedral plaza.The demolished church, the destroyed streets.Construction workers were silently hard at work performing repairs. Whoknows how long it would take to restore everything to their formerappearance."It really wasn"t a dream..."G.o.dou muttered as he looked at the disastrous scene.Next it was time to check out the pier, but just as he made that decision avoice called him."How casual of you to continue staying in this city. Where"s the person whowas with you back then? I am looking for his whereabouts, can you a.s.sistme?"Cagliari, damaged and destroyed everywhere last night.The one who appeared here was the blonde girl dressed in red — the ownerof that unforgettably beautiful face."...What, it"s you."Her name was something like Erica Blandelli.Having a poor impression of her, G.o.dou responded very coldly."Ah, where"s the greeting? I"ve heard that the j.a.panese are very big onmanners, could I be wrong? Or perhaps, it"s you who is ignorant?"Erica spoke scathing words in an elegant tone.Even for someone like G.o.dou who was unaccustomed to handling girls, hecould not stop himself from retorting. Frowning, and using as malicious atone as possible, he counterattacked:"I"ve also heard that Italians were very amiable, but you don"t seem to havethat kind of gentleness."Silently they stared at each other for a moment.Very obviously, Erica"s mood turned for the worse, but it was the same withG.o.dou."If you were a gentleman, then I can lavish as much gentleness as youwant. However, for you to act with such an att.i.tude towards a lady,unacceptable, completely unacceptable, you fail.""At least in the place I was born, girls who threaten others with swords arenot considered ladies. This is due to your own brutality, do not blameothers."And so, this was Kusanagi G.o.dou and Erica Blandelli"s first conversation,which took place in the worst of conditions. Though neither of them wereactually the type to say such offensive words on a first meeting, but thecurrent situation was the worst."Just an underling of a mage who summoned a [Heretic G.o.d], how dareyou speak to me in such a manner?""Mentioning that again? You"ve been going on and on about G.o.ds sinceyesterday, what are those? Could you please communicate with words thatnormal people like me can understand? You"ve been sayingincomprehensible things all this time, and it"s making my mind veryconfused!"G.o.dou furiously said those words.Hearing those complaints, Erica simply smiled, and then held out her hand.Clutched in her hand, was the travel bag on G.o.dou"s shoulder.Directly pulling it over to her, G.o.dou completely could not resist hermonstrous strength. G.o.dou was very surprised that he would lose to sucha slender girl in strength."Look, what is this? A holy relic giving off divine power — even for us magiof the Copper Black Cross, rarely will we possess specimens of this highcaliber."What Erica took out from the back pack, was the stone tablet.B5 in size, wrapped in purple cloth, on it was carved a rather childishdrawing that left one with deep impression. The object that some femalefriend of grandfather had brought to j.a.pan —"Ah, hey! Give it back! That"s not mine. I came specifically from j.a.pan toreturn it to the original owner.""The original owner? This person is on the island of Sardinia?""Yes. Speaking with such arrogance starting yesterday, you don"t seemnormal no matter how I look at it!""...Such harsh criticism aimed towards me, I shall punish you in a littlewhile. But first, I have a question for you, please tell me the name of theoriginal owner."Like an owl having sighted its prey in the middle of the night, Erica"s eyeswere flashing with light."A divine artifact belonging to a group who summons [Heretic G.o.ds], I amvery interested in this owner... Quickly, or would you like to be threatenedby a sword again? While I"m still feeling generous, it would be wise for youto confess everything, yes?"Erica"s eyes were as sharp as swords, though her tone was full of falsegentleness.G.o.dou was about to act in defiance when he suddenly realized.G.o.ds, magic, the mysterious youth, Erica Blandelli.There were so many inexplicable things happening to him yesterday andhe needed to obtain more information in this area.In the absence of that youth, the only source of information was this girl."...She seems to be called Lucretia Zola, and is currently living at a placeinland called Oliena. I was preparing to head there myself."Making his decision, G.o.dou explained directly.Hearing that, Erica frowned and stared at G.o.dou."Lucretia Zola? The Witch of Sardinia? An evil mage underling like you,going to meet her? ...How suspicious."Kusanagi G.o.dou and the mysterious youth.And now it was Kusanagi G.o.dou and Erica Blandelli.These two encounters, who could have expected them to develop into anevent that would rock the world and the G.o.ds — but at this moment it wasonly the southern Italian countryside — just a scene on the island ofSardinia.References1. t Fantastico! Fantastico! Figlio Del Sole!: Italian for "Fantastic!Fantastic! Son of the sun!"2. t Torre dell"Elefante: Tower of the Elephant, a medieval tower builtin 1307.3. t Torre di San Pancrazio: another medieval tower in Cagliari.