Chapter 6 - Saturnus RevivedPart 1Once he left the business office in Kabukicho, G.o.dou got on a car andembarked towards the Kasai district.He requested the Lu family for their a.s.sistance. Well, since they seemed tohave determined that he was a being similar to the cult leader, just oneglance at him would give them an understanding of his intentions.However, this occurred after he, whom people would regard as someonethey should distance themselves from as much as possible, lowered hishead and carefully made his request. Despite doing so, the other party wasstill in a constant state of panic.In short, after ten minutes had pa.s.sed, a company van, belonging to HongKong"s Lu family, drove along the sh.o.r.eline on the coastal route to sendG.o.dou to his destination. However, the actual destination was in TokyoBay.G.o.dou intended to draw support from the power of the History CompilationCommittee after arriving at Kasai."Wow! What is that!?"Sitting in the driver"s seat, the host exclaimed as such.His line of sight was directed towards the ocean. He was distracted whiledriving, but there was a reasonable explanation for this. Tokyo Bay wasradiating with splendor this evening.There were several hundreds, no, several thousands of these tiny little lightblue flames .The constantly swaying flames floated in the sky overlooking Tokyo Bay.Although the Tokyo Bay route was a selling point during the night, theywouldn"t install those kinds of lighting."They are simply wisps of fire, or it"s probably fishing boat lights "G.o.dou muttered from within the van as he gazed towards the sea.He was still unable to sense a deity"s aura. The deity"s power was alsoundetected during the battle. However, he firmly held onto his belief.He feared that the Grey One and the divine sprout were nearby the coast.Glancing at the clock within the car, right now it was December 21st,22:20.It was hard to imagine what these deity related beings were planning tocarry out during the early hours of the next day. However, the idea thatthere was no room for hesitation was probably undeniable."May I get off here? I"ll head in by myself."G.o.dou made this request to the host sitting on the driver"s side.G.o.dou rushed through Kasai Rinkai Park to reach his objective, thecountless wisps of fire and the sea.Even though the situation turned out this way, a location that was not onlylarge but devoid of people at this late hour was optimal. He didn"t have toworry about causing havoc well, maybe not."Looks like it will turn out just like before "G.o.dou muttered as if he was scolding himself.Even so, G.o.dou was aware that his own state of mind wasn"t stable. Hehad always felt that he understood the reason why. Ever since he becamea Campione, he continuously battled against different opponents alongsideother people.However, tonight was the first time G.o.dou was going to battle solo.Well . No matter what battle he faced, the person to rely on should behimself. He also believed that his companions were dependable. However,a person who couldn"t battle single-handedly would be unable to achievevictory in very dangerous situations.For this reason he didn"t mind battling independently.None of his usual friends were present today. He won"t deny that becauseof this, he has this empty feeling inside. Furthermore, he also couldn"t denythat he had this impatient mood towards the culprit who caused thissituationG.o.dou did some fruitless soul searching as he rushed towards the wisps offlames.G.o.dou disregarded what was considered j.a.pan"s largest Ferris wheel andran past the jogging trail into a vast field. This wasn"t even his maximumrunning speed as he chose to move at a slow jogging pace.Afterwards, just when the man-made sh.o.r.eline that was illuminated by thecountless flame wisps came into view"Seems you"ve finally woken young G.o.dslayer, Kusanagi G.o.dou!"A human figure was currently heading towards him from the sea.It was the Grey One, who was either the willpower of the divine artifact,Crown of Saturnalia, or a guardian spirit."You aren"t going to stay silent or commit suicide again are you?"Hearing the Grey One speak, G.o.dou replied in a quiet tone.That was comparing it to what he imagined to be a tone filled with anger."Under these conditions with you, who is now filled with a G.o.dslayer"s will tobattle, it will probably be impossible to buy any more time. However,there"s still a few hours till the winter solstice you shall see later sinceno matter what I will hold out till then."The voice that leaked out of the grey sailcloth was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with thewillpower of a challenger."I have prepared for people of the earth, a revival mechanism that willenable the G.o.d of bountiful harvests to awaken. For the power necessaryto accomplish this awakening, I shall put forth my remaining divinity."Following that, the Grey One"s body began emitting a strong incantation.If we were to compare this to G.o.dou or a heretic G.o.d, of course it would beconsidered very weak. However, it did surpa.s.s the strength of divinebeasts."This holy date with the date of the winter solstice approaching, mydivine power also surges. Furthermore, it is combined with this city"spopulation"s spirit energy and life force!"Hovering over Tokyo Bay were the numerous light blue colored flamewisps. These flames suddenly started to move, increased in speed, andrapidly descended. Following that, the flames collide into the Grey One"sback and were absorbed.The devil-like light illuminating the Kasai coast vanished without a trace.Facing towards him, the Grey One"s magic power strengthened.For a Campione such as G.o.dou, the difference between their power wasstill very distant.However, in comparison to just a moment ago, the Grey Oneapproximately doubled his strength."I always have to a.s.semble some sort of boring disturbance in a city. NowI"m in a predicament since you were tangled up in it Well, there could besome value to this."Does he mean the greyification of the Santa Clauses? Thinking about thismatter made G.o.dou frown."Oh that? You divine beings seem to all inadvertently cause paranormalactivities. You unwittingly let the world descend into chaos. What a mess!""Your followers probably mentioned this before. In the past I served undera deity."The Grey One appeared to be exultant as he laughed aloud. Speaking ofwhich, Yuri originally perceived him as a divine spirit. Perhaps due to theloss of flesh, this was tragic fate of this deity"s soul."If you mean a strange phenomenon on that scale, it could be evoked onceagain No, it has already begun. Bear witness to the greatest miraclethis lackl.u.s.ter G.o.d will bring about!"Immediately afterwards, the bird shape emblem suddenly appeared in theskies overlooking the Grey One"s position.That of course was the Crown of Saturnalia. The emblem continued itsascension."After being on the sea, it went airborne!"G.o.dou exclaimed while looking up at the emblem which suddenlyascended rapidly.What appeared to be an enormous parasitic tree emerged from the fieldsof the park. The incarnation of the 1 000 year old divine tree grew at thesame rapid pace as it did in the past.The tree was still as large and stately as it was before."This guy will turn into a heretic G.o.d!?""Correct. Once the night is over, the grand festival will unfold. When thetime arrives, my new sprout will be ready and ultimately grow into the realSaturnus! Pay attention carefully!"G.o.dou could sense it. The magical power residing within the divine treewas gradually increasing!Once the divine tree"s magic power reaches its peak it will probablybecome a heretic G.o.d. Looks like peaceful consulting was out of thequestion.Usually G.o.dou, who was in a bad mood, would call out the Boar to attack.However, he already tried this maneuver before. If he does that the divinetree will probably just resp.a.w.n again. What should I do? Which incarnationwould be the right choice?As G.o.dou was contemplating this over, countless flower buds appeared onthe divine tree"s branches.They emerged from the innumerable amounts of leaves on the thousandyear old tree. On the branches, this myriad of flower buds began togerminate. In addition, these flower buds all bloomed into white flowers.Not only that, but within a short amount of time, these flowers all wilted andproduced a black fruit.Just like that a slew of black colored fruits emerged on the branches of thedivine tree.Moreover, the shape of these fruits were abnormally frightening. They hadapproximately a one meter diameter spherical body and in the middle wasa slit, sort of like the mouth of an animal.Rustle Rustle RustleRustle Rustle RustleThe evening breeze shook the divine tree"s branches, making its leavesrub against each other. An atypical, ear piercing sound was produced bythe astonishingly large divine tree .The fruits were ferociously barking like a wild beast, probably proclaimingits battle spirit towards Kusanagi G.o.dou.His Campione instincts warned him that these fruits were probablyvery dangerous objects. But how should he defend? Were there anyincarnations of Verethragna that could counter this kind of object!?Just when he naturally shook his head"Do not worry Your Majesty. Even though it looks dire, Ena will find a way!"G.o.dou suddenly heard a familiar and lively voice. He looked back to seethe Hime-Miko of the Sword closing in on him wearing her usualuniform that person was Seishuuin Ena.Part 2"You"re here Seishuuin!?""Yup, I requested them to hurriedly send Ena from Chichibu to Tokyo."Contrary to her t.i.tle, the boldly smiling Ena didn"t bring her sword today."Ena thought as long as she went directly to the location in Tokyo wherethe strange phenomenon was happening, she would definitely be able tomeet Your Majesty. Hehe, Ena was very enthusiastic to come and a.s.sistYour Majesty!""What do you mean very enthusiastic? The other girls are like, so youalso "He probably understood and omitted the rest of the line when he spoke.G.o.dou was bewildered as he gazed at Ena.This time his adversary was capable of interfering with his interpersonalrelationships. Truthfully speaking, he would really appreciate it if she couldhelp.However, if the opponent decides to utilize that previously used curse, theneven Ena would become aberrant.The Hime-Miko of the Sword should have understood that though.However, why is she here? G.o.dou"s gaze carried a sense of suspicion.Ena, being just as bright and cheerful as before, nodded heavily.Now I get it! Just when G.o.dou suddenly realized Ena"s intentions."Another follower? Kusanagi G.o.dou, your party contains many talentedmembers. Since it is like this, I, wielder of the artifact of Saturnus, shallentertain you all."The Grey One began chanting and a rustling noise was heard as the divinetree shook its branches and leaves."The festival of the fruit deranged the citizens, making them intoxicated.Consoling them. Bringing celebration. Slaves will have their moment ofglory. Kings will abandon their thrones for shackles. This dream is the onebestowed by the G.o.d who heralds the spring "He heard the same spell words for the curse used eight days ago at TokyoBay.However, G.o.dou wasn"t worried. Even Ena had a calm and collectedexpression.The Grey One chanted along to the divine tree"s accompaniment. Theviolent wizardry currently being unleashed by the two was nothing be afraidof."By the blessing of bows and arrows, bestow honor upon this great sword!"Upon hearing the Hime-Miko of the Sword chanting her spell words, G.o.doureleased the power within his right arm.Performing the opposite, Ena extended her right arm and used her hand tosearch for the divine aura of steel. To her, this existence"s aura was likeher partner. G.o.dou nodded, entrusting the hime-miko with the sword.Ena used her hand to pull the colorless and formless divine aura towardsher and tightly grasped it."Beseeching the grace of Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi! May its shadowmanifest hither!"Upon completing the spell words, Ena fetched her partner.Her partner, the Sword of Susanoo, was retrieved from the scabbard thatwas G.o.dou"s right arm."Oh!? This lady can actually use the divine sword!"Seeing Ena summon forth the Sword of Susanoo, the Grey Oneresponded in astonishment.The majestic sword had a blade length of three-foot-three-and-a-half-inch.The blade possessed a pitch black color and a slight curvature.Furthermore, the pitch black divine sword was embedded with the ability todisrupt magic!What was severed was of course the curse released by the Grey One!The Hime-Miko of the Sword was the only human being privileged with theability to wield the sword of Susanoo. This was the reason why Ena wasn"tafraid of the curse."Seishuuin, the opposition is now on the move!"On the other side, G.o.dou had already transferred his attention from thecurse to the divine tree. He didn"t see a spectacle like last time. Perhaps itwas because his fighting spirit had been ignited. G.o.dou"s magical powerhad greatly increased. Under this state as a Campione, he understood thatthe curse was already nullified of power.Since it turned out like this, in his eyes the greatest threat was the rapidlygrown divine tree over there.Rustle Rustle RustleRustle Rustle RustleG.o.dou and Ena were both looking up at the majestic divine tree.The mult.i.tudinous branches swayed, the leaves shook, the colossal treetrunk trembled, creating an indescribable tone in the park along theseaside.In a flash, several thousand black colored fruits instantly cultivated on thecolossal thousand-year-old tree.These fruits suddenly plummeted down from the tree branches. All of thefruits dispersed into the air. Like being permeated by a black mist, theskies overlooking the park was completely enshrouded.An innumerable amount of fruits hovered in the air, becoming a canopyabove the current location. The winter constellations were no longervisible.Afterwards, a portion of the fruits plopped down.After violently striking the surface, the fruits exploded. The dirt, asphalt,vegetation, parterre, and fence enclosures in that area were all caught inthe explosion. Everywhere throughout the Kasai Rinkai Park was beingbombed in rapid succession.Seeing as the fruit exploded near their vicinity, G.o.dou said with a dejectedvoice:"If this continues we will get blown up too!""I said not to worry. Let me take care of it Your Majesty!"Undaunted from the start of the ongoing explosions, Ena caressed thesword of Susanoo with her left hand and then started chanting."This was where Susanoo no Mikoto started his uprising, leading athousand savage G.o.ds!"G.o.dou had previously used these spell words when handling the Ama noMurak.u.mo.The hime-miko"s body was flushed with the divine blade"s aura. Incurringthe holy spirit of a G.o.d, this was the trump card known as divinepossession which had the power to match that of divine beasts anddemiG.o.ds."A thousand swords standing upon the earth, used as city walls to defendagainst the enemies."Ena, being under divine possession, grasped the divine sword Ama noMurak.u.mo no Tsurugi. Its pitch black blade and hilt, which was modeledafter j.a.panese swords, were instantly smashed into pieces and dispersed.It was indeed shattered, having turned into shards. Furthermore, thenumerous shards of the Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi hovered aroundEna and formed something similar to a fortress around her."The sword of a thousand was defeated and became a diminutive serpent.However, Mikoto obtained a sword from the great serpent"s tail. Namely,the Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi, which became the steel that defeats athousand blades!"Legend has it that back in the olden days, Susanoo tied down the bladesof a thousand swords as a subst.i.tute for a fortress.In the end when he had lost every single blade, he received the Ama noMurak.u.mo no Tsurugi, a divine sword which surpa.s.sed the one thousandsharp fragmented blades. Ena currently planned on using these spellwords for the great undertaking of presenting its one thousand bladefragments!"By the prestige of the divine sword, rush forth to deal a single strike!"In a split second, the one thousand fragments created by the divine bladedispersed and flew towards the black fruits that covered the skies like apermeating mist. Furthermore, a continuous attack began towards theannoying exploding fruits. The fragments pierced through, penetrating thefruit and setting it off to explode.After she recovered, the sky was already blossoming with the countlessfireworks display and rumbling sound from the explosions.Following that, the black covering over the sky dissipated.The valorous divine blade emerged after the fragments returned to Ena"shand. The Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi once again appeared.Rustle Rustle! Rustle Rustle! Rustle Rustle! Rustle Rustle! Rustle Rustle!The divine tree produced an even more intense noise compared to whatthey have heard up until now. Perhaps it was displaying its animosity.In addition, even the Grey One yelled out."A divine artifact that embodies the logic of heretic steel!? This be aterrifying display of the works of the G.o.ds!""What a weird irritating guy."Ena nonchalantly muttered and rushed towards the Grey One.The divine sword, having just returned to normal, had no problem piercingthrough its target. The Grey One didn"t even try to dodge as the sword ranright through him. His body crumbled just like before.However, a sound came from above."Ha ha ha. Divine sword wielding girl, it"s insignificant even if you destroymy body. As long as this Crown still exists, the sprout of Saturnus and Ishall continuously regenerate!"This voice came from the emblem floating above the divine tree. Thefamiliar bird design was the Crown of Saturnalia that was supposed to berooted to the surface of Tokyo Bay."Sure enough, the problem lies over there ""Then Ena will head over and destroy the tree. If that strange guy comes tohinder me, will Your Majesty take care of it?"G.o.dou of course felt this was the correct a.s.sumption as he nodded. Enacarried the divine blade and sped off.She rushed as if she was flying towards the root of the divine tree. As aresult, a green vine protruded from the ground to obstruct her.Simply put, the vine was like a large serpent as it a.s.sumed an ancistroidform with its neck, turning itself into a whip-like shape.The front portion of that vine attempted to lash out at Ena"s lively body. TheHime-Miko of the Sword, with the movements of a monkey, easily dodgedthe strike and closed in on the root of the divine tree.Immediately after, a second vine emerged from the ground to once againimpede Ena"s path.Not only that, a third and fourth vine also appeared. In the end, about tenvines, akin to a nest of snakes, continuously lunged towards Ena."It feels like the Yamata no Orochi!"Not to be outdone, Ena swung her sword after she appeared to recall thetale of Susanoo and Yamata no Orochi^.A purple liquid spurted out from the severed vine.Furthermore, Ena gracefully leap from place to place with her bodymovement resembling Minamoto no Yos.h.i.tsune^ as she dodged theonslaught of whip-like attacks. For the moment the odds of winning thisbattle seemed quite high.However, the enemy had powers that equally matched that of a divinebeast. It was probably time to unleash the Bull to provide cover.Just as G.o.dou contemplated over this, a chant was heard."Hear the sorrow of David, people! Alas, may the heroes fall! Alas, may theweapons of war be destroyed!""Eh!?"These solemn sounding spell swords, this was without a doubt the secrettechnique that was her trump card."Undrinking blood of murderers, the unretreating bow of Jonathan!Unconsuming flesh of the brave soul, returning the sword of Saul in vain!"G.o.dou looked at the direction where the voice came from. As expected, itwas her.She stood there with her right hand carrying the silver longbow and her lefthand lifting the arrows of blue light. Her silver ponytail swayed, draped overher shoulders was a blue and black shawl. She was indeed set in battleattire."O" bow of Jonathan, with eagle"s swiftness and lion"s strength, a hero"sweapon. Achieve soaring victory!"Afterwards, an arrow of blue light was finally released. Liliana Kranjcarfired a destructive weapon that could even injure and kill a G.o.d.The released arrow of blue light split into six individual arrows midwaythrough, all of which were directed towards the divine tree"s thick trunk.This was probably because the dozens of enormous vines that were beingmanipulated focused their attention towards Ena.Attacked by the spell words of David, which can even kill a G.o.d if thebeing"s fatal spot was. .h.i.t, the tree withered away with astonishing speed.Right away, the divine tree lost all its moisture and water content at once,becoming all dried up.Afterwards, the colossal tree that had been producing those sounds beganto collapse. The crumbled pieces of the tree then broke up even furtherand were scattered by the ocean breeze.On the other hand, at the same time when the divine tree began tocollapse, G.o.dou expressed utter shock to Liliana"s battle engagement."Why are you here!?""It would"ve been strange if I didn"t show up. Beginning with our unresolvedcase, it led to this kind of situation development."Liliana"s voice carried a tone of dissatisfaction."Actually I want to ask, why can"t I be here?""T-That, well you see, that grey b.a.s.t.a.r.d had caused a ton of disturbances."This aspect was very hard to elaborate on which put G.o.dou in a dilemma.Because she was inflicted by that curse from before, Liliana"s memorybecome quite hazy. Due to its effect, a subtle difference arose in G.o.douand Liliana"s relationship. The matter regarding everyone"s first encounterwith the Crown was forgotten.If the Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi was utilized, it could rescind thememory derangement.However, for the Grey One, who was hovering in the sky, as long as theCrown of Saturnalia was still intact, the memory disruption could happenas many times as he wanted which would result in a perpetual cycle.Uncertain as to why G.o.dou was hesitant, Liliana took a step further andangrily corrected him."Kusanagi G.o.dou, all you had to do was this. Say "please accompany mein battle", and trust me. Perhaps this is an enemy that is somewhat hard todeal with, however I am your number one knight. Being there to a.s.sistKusanagi G.o.dou anytime, anywhere, is one of the duties I have a.s.sumed.""Eh ?"What Liliana just said felt like her usual catchphrase.During that brief moment of surprise, once again a voice descended fromthe skies."Hmm. You have apparently gathered your followers to your side oncemore. In that case, it would be most amusing to render your arduousefforts naught "The Grey One"s tone sounded as if he was quite interested. This b.a.s.t.a.r.d isin high spirits once again!?G.o.dou was aware that a sense of anger was emerging from within him. Athis side, Liliana"s face was full of suspicion as she surveyed the Crown ofSaturnalia that was floating in the sky. Moreover, Ena was racing back tothem while single-handedly holding the Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi.Should he request Ena to combat that curse with the Ama no Murak.u.mono Tsurugi ?In the split second G.o.dou was contemplating over this,"Do not worry, G.o.dou-san. That kind of power will no longer have anyeffect on us."He heard a whispering sound by his ear.It was actually the voice of a girl that he didn"t antic.i.p.ate to be here.Cautious like an austere follower of commandments and possessing atender voice, this was without a doubt a voice relayed through psychicsensing." Mariya!?"The recently sent message was transferred by the hime-miko. That said, itwas to be expected.As Liliana"s line of sight crossed his, the silver-haired girl only said "noproblem" towards this and heavily nodded, remaining perfectly composed.Ena perhaps picked up on the situation. Her grin seemed to express "hey,that"s amazing".Immediately afterwards, a surge of wizardry descended from the sky."Slaves will have their moment of glory. Kings will abandon their thrones forshackles. This is the one dream bestowed by the G.o.d who heralds thespring "The spell words to dethrone a king surrounded G.o.dou, Liliana, and Ena.However, there was also the chanting sound for the counterattack."For the sake of maintaining order in Rome, the Senate decreed thesuspension of imperium. Steel of the lion, take this as your foundation!"G.o.dou had definitely heard these spell words before.This became known as the secret technique of the Diavolo Rosso, whichwas utilized when a st.u.r.dy garrison was required to be built."Senatus consultum ultimum, hereby decreed!"Instilled with protection magic, a steel chain-like object was flying around inthe sky like a living being.The sword, Cuore di Leone, transformed into chains these chains werefixated on the heads of G.o.dou and the girls, depicting the samepentagrams used by King Solomon^. These were supposed to be theseals that guarded the body from fiendish magic and demons."Evil be purified, Disaster be dismissed, Misfortune be exorcised,efficacious signs of the bearer of Fortune, I implore your manifestation!"This voice came from an even younger girl compared to the ones thatusually accompany G.o.dou.Only she could have used the disaster purification spirit arts on the lock ofthe Cuore di Leone which defended against the curse descending from thesky."Oh !?""Well, it"s pretty much like this. Despite having powers of divine origins, thewill of the divine artifact possesses a restricted spiritual power."The commander of the lion of steel had triumphed with a magnificentvictory as she approached them."Hikari"s disaster purification is able to eliminate a small portion of a G.o.d"spower. I firmly believe that it is now completely defendable."Her name was of course Erica Blandelli.A red and black overcoat draped over her body. Her battle stance wasalready primed.The miko sisters were also by her side. Yuri and her little sister Hikari, ahime-miko learning on the job, were reservedly smiling."If that really wasn"t just to make our relationship with G.o.dou drift apart, butrather a curse making us loath G.o.dou, then the situation right nowwould"ve turned out much differently. They wouldn"t even qualify as a devilking Campione"s adversary if that was the case. Oh, and Lily."Playing the leading role by an appearance at the very end, it seemed to bean act in which Erica excelled at.She amply displayed her own capabilities while speaking towards her oldfriend and rival."I, Erica Blandelli, am the one who holds the t.i.tle and position of KusanagiG.o.dou"s number one knight. No matter what, I"ll never surrender thatposition to you!"The girls of red and blue were disputing over who would be the numberone knight.This type of conversation had already been a common occurrence. Thetwo of them conversed just as they did in the past.Part 3"When in the world did you guys break free from the curse?""It happened during the evening today after parting ways with G.o.dou."Erica indifferently answered G.o.dou"s primary suspicion."The biggest mistake that strange divine spirit or divine artifact"s willpowercommitted is using that completely flawed memory manipulation to strivefor more than ten days worth of time."After a brief glance at the Crown floating in the sky, Erica spoke in aprovocative manner."Regardless of how urgent a situation is for one or two days, once itsduration is dragged out, many irrational doubts will arise. When Iconversed with G.o.dou today I also felt something was amiss. Hence, I wasskeptical on whether or not I was struck by some kind of psychic attack so Idecided to seek out Hikari.""I was startled when I suddenly received Erica-neesama"s call."Hikari energetically smiled as G.o.dou nodded towards this revelation."After trying to eliminate any spells on my body, my memory suddenlyreturned to normal. Later, me and Hikari went to find Yuri and Lilytogether.""H-How cruel, you should have immediately given me a call!"G.o.dou said what seemed to be a retort to Erica"s shocking announcement.Consequently, a devilish smile was revealed by this girl who exhibits hertalent in a dazzling manner like a painting."Since you seemed to be very busy, I thought it would be okay to excuseyou. Plus, to a Campione like G.o.dou, you should"ve been able to removethe curse through your own power right?"It was the patented demonic smile of Erica that he had sorely missed.To see this type of smile once again made him feel very happy, howeverthere was always something that kept him ill at ease. But, well ."No matter how you look at it, being able to meet up with everyone onceagain should count as good news."The disjointed gears were finally able to be smoothly combined together.Having grasped the mood of the situation, G.o.dou nodded towards thea.s.sembled group of people.Erica and her haughtiness, Yuri and her sincerity, Liliana and herseriousness, Ena and her proud smile, and there was Hikari with her youthand liveliness. Everyone had their own perspective expression and noddedback at G.o.dou.However, a voice descended from the skies to throw cold water on thegroup ."N-No! Young lady, don"t say I committed a gaffe. In my opinion, theoutcome this time is satisfactory. Despite encountering some trivialproblems, being fortunate enough to be able to disrupt the relationshipbetween you guys allowed me to achieve this the arrival of the day ofthe grand festival!""The sky! Everyone please look up at the sky!"Yuri suddenly shouted and directed her finger towards the Crown ofSaturnalia hovering in the sky."A coffin the coffin has been opened "She probably received a spirit vision as she spoke with a quiet, tremblingtone.Immediately after, the Crown of Saturnalia floating in the sky broke intopieces and scattered below. The broken pieces splashed into the oceanupon impact. In contrast to the emblem that had been at this location untilnow, a radiant golden oval appeared in its place.To G.o.dou and the others on the ground, it appeared to be as large as themoon.A meteor descended towards Kasai Rinkai Park from the oval. Right whenthe violent impact occurred, a gigantic divine tree germinated from thecrash site. No wait.The existence that emanated this time had a peculiar form compared to thedivine trees up until now.Its body length was approximately thirty meters. Candidly speaking, itappeared to be a wooden figure created by a clumsy child throughmimicry.The widest area resembled a torso. The human-like form was barelyrecognizable.Both of its legs were thick and short. Its arms on the other hand wereslender, with a length that reached the ground. The head was tiny andsolitarily placed above the carca.s.s. Not only that, but there were shoots,branches, and leaves germinating all over the body.The greenish-blue shoots and foliage decorated the brown tree in specks.This combination formed an indescribable color arrangement."Be careful everyone. That guy is much stronger than before!"Ena had a worrisome expression as she warned the others.The user of divine possession probably sensed that the existence"s powercan be compared to that of a G.o.d. G.o.dou felt it as well. He still wasn"t aheretic G.o.d. He didn"t feel that boiling sensation when encountering a G.o.d.There is the fear that this divine tree represents a middle-ground existencethat is between a G.o.d and non-G.o.d. Perhaps it could be considered as anent demiG.o.d ."Soon the sunrise of the grand festival will arrive I only serve as a priestto last until this very day now it seems that the moment has arrived. Myremaining mission is to incur the seed of Saturnus and send it to theground should be time silencing now "The voice coming from the sky finally dissipated.Acting decisively towards this was Erica. She turned to her old friend andrival and sent her a signal with her eyes."Lily, it would be quite meaningless to hold anything back at this point.Let"s charge with everything we have ok? Ena-san are you fine with this?"Afterwards, she grasped the Cuore di Leone and sped off.Liliana and Ena both nodded and followed. The target for the three of themwas the gigantic ent demiG.o.d!"And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams" horns before the ark ofthe Lord went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armedmen went before them!""And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses!"Erica and Liliana both chanted as they rushed in.These were the divine annihilation privileges bestowed upon them as theyimplemented their smiting spell words."Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman,young and old, and ox, and sheep, and a.s.s, with the edge of the sword!"A scarlet ray of light wrapped around Erica"s body. The slender blade,Cuore di Leone, also deformed into a barbed lance."And they slew all the males. And they slew the kings of Midian, beside therest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur,and Reba, five kings of Midian — And the children of Israel took all thewomen of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of alltheir cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. And they burnt all theircities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire!"Liliana"s body was also surrounded by a blue ray of light. The hilt of hersaber, II Maestro, was also elongated which transformed it into the shapeof a naginata."The hero takes up his bow and shoots a soaring arrow... Leaving a legendpa.s.sed down the ages to this day without human guardianship."In addition, Ena too began to chant her spell words as she wielded theAma no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi .Each of the three girls went towards the newly risen ent demiG.o.d to delivertheir strongest blows.Erica flew straight up into the air and used her magic sword to mercilesslycarve out the ent"s flanks.Gracefully moving around in the air like a swallow, Liliana sent a horizontalslice towards the ent"s neck.The ent stumbled after its legs were cut off by Ena"s lighting strike. One ofits legs shattered into pieces."Not putting up any resistance!?"Liliana felt astonished and the other two probably felt the same.After receiving three strikes, the ent demiG.o.d let out a loud cry.ooooooooooaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNnnnnnnnNNNnnnnnnn....Following that, the ent"s body collapsed just like its predecessor, the divinetree, when it was struck by Jonathan"s bow. However, after severalseconds had pa.s.sed .The golden oval floating in the night sky once again spat out anothermeteor.As expected, another ent demiG.o.d being was produced.Considering Christmas had seen better days, G.o.dou"s body violentlyjolted. It wasn"t due to the extreme cold or because of fear, rather it was atremble of excitement. The G.o.dslayer slightly sensed the aura of theenemy he would meet in battle."Its power has risen from before!?"Having intuitively deduced this, G.o.dou looked towards Yuri."I sense it as well. I"m afraid that as time elapses as daybreakapproaches, that divine tree will become more and more like a hereticG.o.d!""Furthermore, it will just revive no matter how many times you kill it "What a troublesome opponent. G.o.dou could not help but smack his lips.If the power of everyone a.s.sembled here was combined, the ent demiG.o.dgiant could be smashed into pieces. However, if done like this there wouldbe no way to solve the core of the problem."If only Yuri or Liliana could use spirit vision to see through the reason whythis divine tree is able to continuously revive itself "Erica mentioned as such. Liliana and Ena walked back together to G.o.dou"slocation since they probably figured out that attacking the ent demiG.o.d wasmeaningless.Furthermore, up until now the ent seemingly didn"t have any intention tobattle against G.o.dou and the girls. There were differences in comparisonto the incomparably violent divine tree. It was very quiet like a genuinetree constantly towering there.Moreover, it began to chant. The sound appeared to be coming from anopening that resulted from a split crevice.oooooooaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAN NNNNNNnnnnnNNNNNNnnnA sharp jolt. G.o.dou"s body once again shuddered from excitement. If itcontinued to raise its power levels it will gradually approach the strength ofa heretic G.o.d."Hey G.o.dou, I have a suggestion.""What is it?""Since that tree wants to transform into a G.o.d, we might as well not disturbit and wait a bit right?"G.o.dou was extremely surprised by that shocking statement. Erica calmlycontinued speaking."The most suitable weapon to defeat that ent is probably the spell wordsfor the Sword right? Once we figure out his means of revival this mysterywill be solved. Since we are already at this stage, it doesn"t matter if theenemy is a divine tree or a heretic G.o.d since there isn"t that much of adifference. If that is the case, don"t you feel a more rewarding battle wouldbe better?"If he could defeat a heretic G.o.d, then Kusanagi G.o.dou could attain a newability. She was. .h.i.tting on this point.Detecting the meaning behind Erica"s statement, G.o.dou offered his reply."Of course not. Obtaining a deity"s power has no importance to me. Ialready possess all the power I could ever want.""All the power you could ever want? What do you mean?""Everyone has already a.s.sembled together like this right? Having partnerstogether in combat who also care about me, this much is already morethan enough."His voice could not help but become emotional. Was it because of thecurrent situation?Towards this honest statement, Erica revealed a blossoming smile andYuri also displayed a gentle smile. Liliana nodded her head, seeminglysaying I feel the same while Ena too knowingly smiled."Onii-sama, I would also like to accompany everyone.""Haha, Hikari has also helped us in many aspects."The youngest hime-miko in training smiled as she spoke with G.o.dou whonodded in response.However, she still was only an elementary school student. If the situationhad become more dangerous than it was now, then it would only be rightto have her take refuge.After he nonchalantly sent Erica an eye signal, she looked as if shealready understood its meaning and redirected her gaze. She truly knewhow to clue in on one"s thoughts. That said .They faintly sensed that the restlessness had already unwittingly subsided."Furthermore, another reason is we don"t want that guy turning into the G.o.dSaturnus."G.o.dou, who just remembered this point, spoke of the phenomenon thatthis G.o.d brought upon 150 years ago.It was within the report sent by Lu Yinghua. In regards to this, theexpressions of the girls became tense."I take that back. In the end, as a knight I cannot permit that kind ofdisorder occurring in Tokyo and brush it aside. Let"s quickly take down thatent."Even Erica"s facial expression was serious as she said:"Since it is like this, we must quickly prepare the Sword.""Instead of the giant, the key should lie over there, right?"Ena used her fingers to point towards the golden oval that emerged in thesky."Yuri, what is this coffin you mentioned just now?""Y-Yes, it looked like someone was buried inside. At least that was what Ifelt. That"s why I didn"t want to say the word coffin outright. Perhaps thatwas the coffin of the Grey One.""Speaking of which, that guy previously mentioned he was a G.o.d in thepast."G.o.dou nodded towards Yuri"s speculations."In short, if we could get closer while staying on the ground, then perhaps itshouldn"t be up to me but rather Yuri who might be able to obtain a moredetailed spirit vision."When coming in close contact to a historical divine artifact, the successrate displayed in Yuri"s spirit vision is astonishingly high.It was probably because of this that Liliana would have an expression ofregret as she spoke. As a result,"If it"s just getting closer then perhaps there is someway to accomplishthat."Yuri spoke in a soft and determined tone."Although, I"m not certain if going there will result in me obtaining a spiritvision but no matter what we must give it a try!"After finishing her statement, the hime-miko crossed her arms over herchest and closed her eyes.This was her praying stance. Following that, a faint white light arose fromYuri"s body. Next, the ray of light ascended up into the sky like a pure whitesatin fluttering in the air."Spirit body separation! Isn"t this the Princess"s ability!?"Consequentially, G.o.dou remembered the conversation he had with Liliana.The one who was regarded as Europe"s highest ranking hime-miko wasPrincess Alice. Her secret technique was the ability to utilize psychicsensing from a spirit body detachment. Despite having her physical bodyslumbering in her residence at London, she was able to fly all over theworld with her spirit body. Yuri was now able to achieve the same featAlice"s spirit body was no different from her real body, but to Yuri this wasstill quite difficult. However, the resplendent ray of white light actually flewtowards the sky heading towards the its target, the golden coffin!Two minutes pa.s.sed just like that. With her eyes closed, the hime-mikosuddenly collapsed."Onee-chan!"Hikari immediately came to help up her sister. G.o.dou and the others alsorushed over to her side to a.s.sist.Yuri had an exhausted appearance as she weakly knelt on the groundwhile gasping for air. Because she used spirit body separation, her bodywas probably overtaxed.She wasn"t even able to look them eye to eye. However, during theintermittence of her gasping, the hime-miko quietly said:"G.o.dou-san, in the end I saw it.""What do you mean Mariya?""T-The light, it"s being hidden in the abyss of that coffin. That light iscurrently the underlying cause of this inextricable revival. If we caneliminate it then "She was finally able to stabilize her breathing. However, she wasn"tfinished speaking.Yuri closed her eyes and then lost consciousness soon after."What does the abyss refer to?"G.o.dou felt perplexed as he looked up towards the night sky. The horrificoval that sparkled with golden light rays was hovering in the sky.She said it was a ray of light in the abyss. Did it have to be sealedsomehow? After all was said in done, G.o.dou and the others were locatedon the ground. But as for a means of flying there they do have it.G.o.dou examined that approach but then hesitated. He once againreviewed his options.Sure enough, there were no other alternatives."Hey Liliana, haven"t you recently been saying that I have been too politenumerous times?"Having an unrelated question being suddenly thrown at her, the femaleknight replied "yeah, you"re right" in response.She didn"t seem to understand and said "why do you bring this up now?""Only during times like these will I impolitely request something from you.Furthermore, besides you there"s no one else I can request. Please sendme over there!"The golden oval floating in the night sky was an existence that Yurisuccinctly revealed as the coffin.G.o.dou pointed to that majestic sight as he pleaded towards LilianaKranjcar.Part 4A period of time pa.s.sed after G.o.dou and Liliana took off.Suddenly, the ent demiG.o.d let out a roar.oooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAN NNnnnNNNNN!This one was a bit more intense compared to that steady cry from before.Its yell came from a crevice that was the equivalent of a mouth as it gazedtowards the sky.At the forefront of its sight was the golden coffin that G.o.dou and companywere heading towards!"As expected, that coffin appears to be a crucial point for the ent as well.""It probably became restless after it sensed Your Majesty and everyoneclosing in on it."Erica muttered in response while Ena offered her speculations.The only two battlers left on the ground were those two. They had alreadydecided on what should be done next. Erica and Ena wordlesslyexchanged eye signals and each understood the other"s intentions.Just when they did that, the ent demiG.o.d raised its elongated right arm intothe air.A wooden staff suddenly appeared in its hand. The wooden staff wasdivided in two at the end, giving it a shape that resembled a tuning fork.In addition, dozens of vines emerged from the ent"s bulky legs. All of thevines were lengthy, thick, and possessed a curved body similar to a huge,lively snake, creating a whip-like appearance.Moreover, a radiating green sphere of light glinted at the end of the twop.r.o.nged tip. The sphere of light went into the sky ascending towardsthe golden coffin!Furthermore, it wasn"t just a single shot. It felt like one after another werebeing continuously released.Erica wasn"t naive as to perceive this bubble blowing-like action of creatingthose spherical bodies as some sort of exotic spectacle.It was practically guaranteed that this was to impede the two peopleascending into the sky."Hikari.""P-Present, Erica-neesama.""Leave this area with Yuri and find refuge.""Me and Ena-san are heading out to deal with this, during that time I won"tbe able to protect you and your sister."" ! I understand. This is in order to help Onii-sama andLiliana-neesama."Although she was learning on the job, she truly deserved to be called ahime-miko. She was well-disciplined and thoroughly educated.She sensed what Erica"s intentions were and promptly nodded. Despiteher young appearance, she was quite awe-inspiring and focused.Hikari, who was still supporting her dazed older sister Yuri, departed fromErica and the others.Speaking of which, during the battle with the Great Sage Equaling Heavenshe was requested to do something similar as well. Remembering this,Erica let out a faint smile. In these various situations, Mariya Hikari mightalso become one of the members of the round table that follows KusanagiG.o.dou."Well then Erica-san, your move. Prior to this I felt those vines were similarto the Yamata no Orochi, making Ena fight an array of heads.""Ara, the honor of being tasked with the objective of infiltrating the enemy"sheadquarters is of course mine.""No matter, letting Erica-san have first crack at battling the army of headsis fine as well. However, if you can"t exterminate them then Ena will have alesser workload."The Hime-Miko of the Sword fearlessly spoke. Erica followed with a smilein response.Immediately after they jokingly agreed to share the task, the miko andknight speedily rushed in towards the ent demiG.o.d who was releasingthose abnormal spheres of light into the sky.Erica and Ena both dispensed spells that raised their body"s agility andrunning speed to explosive levels.The two of them kept rushing forward with incredible speed until they werein close proximity to the ent, around ten meters or so away. However,dozens of vine creatures emerged from the ent"s leg and startedmaneuvering themselves in order to block their path.Ena wielded the Ama no Murak.u.mo no Tsurugi to combat these vineshead on.Soon after, there was an opening Erica plunged in without hesitationtowards the ent"s chest.Charging forth quickly in a straight line, she thrust the lance forward as ifcarrying out a knight"s duty.Erica displayed this sort of vigor as she suddenly charged in with aferocious pace and thrust the lance infused with divine annihilationprivileges forward, intending to jam it straight through the ent"s body.It blocked the lance with its unexpectedly nimble left arm. However Ericadidn"t fret about this. She immediately began chanting spell words."Cuore di Leone! Bestowed with an archangel"s added protection, drivehim away!"Breaking down the obstruction, gnawing apart the enemy, it was the lion ofsteel.The transformed barbed lance, which received Erica"s orders for a surpriseattack and the applied spell words, shot through the wooden ent"s righthand. Penetrating through was the embedded privilege of annihilation.Boom! The ent"s right hand was blown off simultaneously with the sound ofthe explosion. The ent was gracefully blown away.On the other side, G.o.dou and Liliana were currently closing in on thegolden coffin.Before the silver-haired female knight took off using her most well-versedwitchcraft, she inspected the golden coffin floating in the sky.Then after she checked its location, she approached right next to G.o.douand utilized her flight magic.The two of them were surrounded by a blue ray of light as they took off intothe sky.This was probably the fastest flight magic that humans could utilize. It wassaid that the flight distance was also pretty far. a.s.suming they were at theborder of Europe, they could even traverse the entire continent.Only witches like Liliana could apply this type of magic.Except the user could not fly to a place they were not familiar with orcannot visualizeG.o.dou unintentionally looked down and began to regret this. Below himwas the capacious sea that was as dark as the night. At this far distancethe nightly scene of Tokyo was still visible. The view was akin to standingon the 40th floor observation deck of a highrise surveying the scenery.As of right now, a bizarre magic light was propping up his feet.Flying like this was very harmful to the heart. Before taking off, he hadasked Liliana if it was her first time reaching this high of an alt.i.tude throughflying magic. She replied that in the past she would play around like this allthe time."Kusanagi G.o.dou, I can see it!"Liliana controlled the blue light soaring in the sky as she spoke.As for the golden coffin hovering in the sky they were graduallyapproaching the dazzling bright oval-shaped light. At this moment, G.o.dourealized this oval was much larger than he had antic.i.p.ated when he wason the ground.This elongated oval was about the size of a track and field stadium.Well, now the real show begins.Just as G.o.dou licked his lips, he noticed the sphere of light attacking themfrom below. The sphere had a radiant green shine and was about fourmeters in diameter.Furthermore, this radiating green light sphere had a speed that wasnoticeably faster than Liliana"s flight magic. At a quick glance, there wereabout twenty or thirty spheres flying towards them right now!Out of those spheres, the one leading the pack was about to catch up tothe flight magicPop. The spheres split apart like a bursting balloon, releasing a blast wave.The blue light from the flight magic maintained by Liliana shook. G.o.dou"sbody also violently jerked."Guah !""As expected, it wasn"t going to be easy getting there."Liliana clenched her teeth as G.o.dou mumbled to himself.In truth, he was previously concerned that they would be obstructed whilein the sky which is why he was hesitant in asking Liliana earlier. However,there were no other options besides giving up so he had no choice but torequest her a.s.sistance.The flight magic was only able to travel in straight lines.If they were to come under attack in mid-air, it would seem like nothingcould be done besides praying that the enemy misses.Since it was like this, G.o.dou, who was unable to avert his gaze away fromthe golden coffin, contemplated for a moment. After making Liliana bringhim to this point, he seriously had considered the idea of descending intothe coffin by himself. Then he would proceed to see with his own eyeswhat was actually within the coffin.However, even if the situation had already turned into this, leaving Lilianaby herself in the sky would result in her being harmed first.There was an option that allowed the two of them to charge into thisdangerous situation together. However, if that was done, it will result in herbeing exposed to another danger"Kusanagi G.o.dou, do I have to repeat that statement once again?""Eh?""I believe what I previously said should already be enough. That said, don"tyou feel that we have already overcome many dangers together up untilnow? It"s far too late for this kind of concern."G.o.dou couldn"t help but look at Liliana"s face. Compared to her seriousstatement, the fairy-like girl had quite a mischievous smile."It"s already too late right.""Yeah. Too late."G.o.dou felt deeply ashamed after she immediately replied like that.Perhaps this really was the case.Think about it, Liliana and the other girls would always encounter manydangers because of Kusanagi G.o.dou. Furthermore, they always stayed byhis side even though he would always incite these situations. And in theend, they would fight together, shoulder to shoulder, charging into the faceof danger."Liliana, continue heading in that direction. Rush into that ray of light!""Got it!"Immediately after, the two of them surrounded by the light of the flightmagic dashed into the golden coffin.References1 . t Orochi is a legendary 8-headed and 8-tailed j.a.panese dragonthat was slain by the Shinto storm-G.o.d Susanoo.2. t Minamoto no Yos.h.i.tsune (1 159 - June 15, 1 189) was a general ofthe Minamoto clan of j.a.pan in the late Heian and early Kamakuraperiod. He is considered one of the greatest and the most popularwarriors of his era, and one of the most famous samurai fighters in thehistory of j.a.pan.3. t In Medieval Jewish, Christian and Islamic legends, the Seal ofSolomon was a magical signet ring said to have been possessed byKing Solomon, which variously gave him the power to commanddemons, genies, or to speak with animals.