Chapter 6Due to Crete island receiving a direct hit from the Typhoon #24, it became a no entry zone for normal people and became partly uninhabited. It was believed that that was because repair works were ongoing, however that was just a means to cover the truth.
At any rate, on the Crete island seen by Izayoi and co who actually went there, there was not a single person remaining. Despite it being an island with a territory of about half of Shikoku, there were no visible traces of someone staying there recently. It was proof that they started an immediate evacuation after the hit of the Typhoon #24.
The palm trees along the coast were scattered in a broken state, and the stands were destroyed and commodities abandoned. The characteristically white townscape was completely empty, the only sound being the echos of the wind and sea..
The fact that the signs of the evacuation were left intact meant that no one had been on this island since the recommendation was issued.
Izayoi kicked the palm tree blocking the way flying and smiled amusingly.
"Quarantined diseased island, is it? As expected, it seems that Crete has been covered in the virus. There"s not a soul here."
"What"s going on?"
"I already told you about fighting with the Minotaur, right? At that time, it was a monster integrated with the labyrinth and didn"t give off any signs of intellect, however when I met it once more, it seemed to have intellect although only a bit. ───With that, I noticed it. The fact that due to some reason, the Minotaur could be turning back into a human."
As he kicked yet another tree flying, the three headed straight towards their destination.
Tokuteru inquired while being swarmed by insects for some reason.
"I see. And how is that connected to the pandemic on Crete?"
"It could be the result of me trying to change the way of deciphering the legend of Minotaur. In case Minotaur is a turned monster, there should be a reason behind its changing."
Inside the myth, there is a big separation on whether its divinity and monster nature is something innate or acquired. The former was mostly formed by the world concept itself, while the latter was mostly due to the actions while alive. It could be concluded that the Minotaur that became a monster after being given a human name is a typical turned monster.
Prith warned the swarm of insects saying "You can"t enter that place", and nodded as if giving consent.
"Hm. Speaking of which, there"s something I want to ask. Would someone like Demon Lord Balor from the Celtic Pantheon become the representative example of that?"
"The guy who dominated other races with Black Death, huh? That is also an acquired divinity by means of the disease."
Izayoi who kicked the third broken tree flying, lightly sprayed the insect spray that he prepared just in case, and then tossed it towards Tokuteru.
As Tokuteru, who was swarmed by a lot of insect, gave his thanks, he sprayed large quant.i.ty the insect repellent spray and continued talking.
"Ah, so, it"s that? You are thinking that what summoned the two Bull Monsters that were the origins of the disease, have relation to this land, right?"
"Yeah. Or somewhere in the southern Iraq. The G.o.ds of Little Garden have to use a place that is connected to them in some way in order to interfere with the outer world, right? I think that these two are most plausible as the......candidates!"
He sent fourth and fifth trees flying.
He was being considerate in his own way, kicking the trees to the side of the road, but it seems the impact was a bit too strong. The bees that barely kept their nests within the storm became enraged and rushed towards Tokuteru all at once.
Glancing back at Tokuteru who began to fight back at the palm nest in a fl.u.s.ter, Izayoi and Prith smoothly proceeded forward and arrived towards their goal.
"So, this means that this place───Crete ruins "Knossos Palace" is suspicious, huh?"
As the two arrived at the Palace that was their place of destination, they mutually started to survey the surroundings.
They were the ruins reputed as one of the highest cla.s.s in the existing Bronze Age, however now it continued to fade, and the scars that were unable to be hidden were visible everywhere. However the traces of repairs could also be seen, and despite everything, the past glory of the white wall palace that could be overlooked from the entrance could still be felt.
Surely, one of the reasons for that was the lack of tourists.
Perhaps every civilization that has remained for thousands of years after the disappearance of the mankind, its ground may turn into similar scenery. If you thought about it like that, it could be considered to be a scenery filled with sorrow.
Tokuteru who arrived later than the two, put his hands on his waist a little proudly as he dodged all the fierce attacks of the bees.
"I-I got the grasp on the story. Now, shall we split up to search whether there"s something suspicious here?"
"That"s not necessary. My partner arrived at the palace before us."
Hou? Tokuteru and Prith raised their voices at the same time. They heard the story, but it seemed that the temple he spoke of referred to the Knossos Palace.
It was immediately after that when the whirlwinds formed in the sky of Mediterranean Sea. The giant figure of a bird was reflected in the sky traveling at high speed.
Prith put herself on guard thinking it was an enemy, however Izayoi and Tokuteru were different.
Izayoi smiled as if amazed, while Tokuteru looked up at the sky in surprise. Tokuteru who went to meet the giant shadow that steadily approach, raised his voice as if convinced.
"Are you........ the Gryphon from back then! My my, this is quite nostalgic!"
『It has been a while, Tokuteru-dono. I"m glad that you are in good health.』
The one descending while raising the whirlwinds, was their acquaintance, the Eudemon, "Gryphon" with the upper half of an eagle and lower half of a lion. The Gryphon that dashed as if treading on the atmosphere moved his legs back and forth and swooped down as if descending from a ladder, and respectfully bowed his head.
With a wave of his wrist, Tokuteru excused him from using polite speech, and asked about the situation.
"Hahaa. So you went ahead and came here first, huh? Certainly, you as a Gryphon you will have a lot of advantage in seeing the land of Greece. However, I can"t really say that it"s good to be using that form in the outer world. ───Or did something happen?"
Tokuteru"s gaze turned sharp and he looked at the lower half of the Gryphon.
Looking closely, his hind foot appeared to be broken.
『Yes. I confirmed that the place deemed to be a gateway with Little Garden to be in the throne room.........But after that I was attacked by an unforeseen enemy, and arrived at current situation. Please be careful. The enemy was quite skilled.』
Saying that, the Gryphon tiredly sat down. Izayoi tried to approach in a hurry, but Prith came forth before him and touched his injury.
"It"s terrible. The bone is broken. It should"ve hurt just by walking normally."
"Prith. Take care of him. It wouldn"t do to leave him like this."
『I"m truly ashamed.』
Gryphon once again bowed his head. Izayoi who looked at that with a grim face, approached with big steps and told him briefly.
".........My bad, Gry. I should"ve arrived sooner without relying on things like planes."
『Don"t say the absurd. It was my judgment to come here on my own. You can"t be blamed for it, right?』
"But thanks to you I avoided the surprise attack. That alone is already plenty as a result. ───Rest without worries. I"ll pay them back ten thousand fold."
Yahaha, Izayoi laughed while the Gryphon called Gry also returned a wide smile.
It was unnecessary to worry too much about him who still smiled like this despite receiving a serious injury. Right now, he should only think about returning the debt of receiving that injury.
"Well then, I guess this is farewell with Prith. Sorry, but I"ll be leaving this guy with you. I"ll immediately come to pick him up after I complain to Queen."
"Please do so. .........Don"t be careless you two."
Seen off by Prith, Izayoi and Tokuteru advanced towards the throne room located deep inside the Knossos Palace.
The Knossos Palace that was the greatest historic ruin of Bronze Age, had a somewhat complicated structure. This structure that couldn"t be traveled easily by foot was as if it was teaching that a labyrinth referred to things like this. The two who arrived at the throne room of Knossos Palace that could be called the world"s oldest throne, had immediately noticed an abnormal situation. When Tokuteru drew the pattern in the air that represented his Divinity, a crack that could be visualized appeared in the empty s.p.a.ce.
It was a clear crack that was far greater in size compared to the time when he connected to Little Garden from Shibamata Taishakuten and was done far easily.
It might have been fortunate that people have been kept away. With such a dangerous crack in the Palace that is a tourist spot of Crete, there would be no end to cases of being spirited away.
After Izayoi and Tokuteru exchanged glances, they both jumped into the crevice.
As they did so, the situation took a sudden turn and their view was filled with multicolored aurora. The aurora that advanced like wave couldn"t be obstructed even if they closed their eyes. As the aurora illuminated every part of their bodies, their view suddenly cleared up.
The two of them that were summoned on a point 4000m in the skies didn"t show any particular surprise as they entrusted their bodies to the free fall. It was something they both had experienced many times. There was nothing surprising at this point.
They overlooked the scenery below while being shaken by the cool wind.
The place they were summoned was a giant labyrinth that extended until the horizon. The labyrinth that was divided by white walls had diverse paths ranging from small roads to vast plazas.
Izayoi and Tokuteru who dropped down near the Altar that seemed to be the center of the great labyrinth, landed sprawled on the ground and raised the dust. Nevertheless, when you look at their uninjured states, it can be seen that neither of them are normal.
As the two of them cleared away the surrounding dust, they looked at the Altar of the central hall where they fell down and immediately understood just where they have landed.
"Ah, I see. Apparently, we seem to have invaded the labyrinth from the destination, Tokuteru."
"Seems like it. Is the center of that Altar a gateway?"
The two of them looked at the throne at the center of Altar. No matter how you looked at that old throne made of stone, it was the world"s oldest throne of the Crete Palace they saw some time ago. Originally, this Altar would have been a mechanism to transfer Saigou Homura to the outside simultaneously with clearing the Game.
Izayoi laughed and shook his head left and right.
"Oh man, I"m beaten. I didn"t expect it to be a gateway to return to the outer world from the side of Little Garden. Given this, I wouldn"t be able to return even if the Game was cleared, would I?"
"Well, that"s how it is if you think about it normally. It is difficult to return to the side of Little Garden unless there is something that would serve as a key."
"I see, I see. Then, I will think about that without reserve───But for now, I"ll endure it by settling the score with those bunch."
He narrowed his eyes and looked at the Altar with discernment.
Izayoi frankly said without trying to conceal his hostility.
"Stop hiding and come out already. Or are you in the middle of preparing a surprise to meet us? If that"s the case, I"ll only wait for three minutes. Recite prayers together with the surprise."
Izayoi who started to walk slowly, glared at the Altar and the throne with angry eyes. Although he did say he would wait, he didn"t say he wouldn"t cause harm.
It was an absurd reasoning from an outsider’s perspective, however there was no need to keep manners with the outlaws. To h.e.l.l with the overnight grudges. Since his comrade received the surprise attack, it would be better to settle the score even a moment faster. There would be plenty of time for the matter about Homura and Suzuka after smashing the faces of the a.s.sailants.
Izayoi walked with forceful steps thinking if he should just pulverize the Altar and all. Perhaps that inconvenient spirit of his was transmitted to them.
The a.s.sailants that were hiding undercover showed themselves all at once.
".........You got us. Even though we returned him alive out of mercy, it seems we are hated quite a bit."
The two silhouettes appeared from behind the throne with amazed voices.
The one who raised the voice was a youth with characteristic blue hair. His age was perhaps around Homura and co"s age or perhaps a bit older. In his hands was the hard bow clad in lightning.
He hypothesized that it was a Divine Weapon, but he didn"t know what Divinity it was. But looking at his specialized weapon, it didn"t seem like he was the one who did a surprise attack on Gry.
Izayoi disregarded that youth, and looked at the other person standing beside him.
".........Hey, the lady-killer over there. Were you the one who attacked the Gryphon?"
"Now, I wonder about that?"
He was a handsome man who wore linen clothes and had imposing bull horns growing under his black glossy hair. He appeared to be in the latter twenties to him, but he was a bull monster with horns.
Judging from his slightly worn out tone, it was obvious that he was faking his age, and it was understood just by a glance that he was someone powerful. It was true for the "Bull of Heaven" of this time, but those who carried the legends a.s.sociated with "Bulls" were mostly strong in general. If they also held Divinity like G.o.d"s envoy or the avatar of a chief G.o.d, they were mostly referred to as Monsters or Demon Lords. The "Horned Animals" like a bull or deer is a symbol of a powerful person and it tends to be seen as an object of faith in all the countries of the world.
Judging that carelessly approaching the bull monster and the youth who held a Divine Weapon, Izayoi stopped his feet before the stairs leading to Altar.
(.........Hm. It seems Gry wasn"t simply taken by surprise.)
Both of them───were much stronger than he thought.
Izayoi held down his anger and collected himself.
It seems, "Letting him return alive" they said before wasn"t a lie. It would be difficult to retreat by oneself while having such powerful people, and two at that, as opponents. Without a doubt, both of them were equal to a Demon Lord. Izayoi put his hands to his waist, and glared at the Altar along with a deep sigh.
"───So then. Where"s the third one?"
Both the black and blue haired youths were slightly surprised.
The handsome man in particular looked at Izayoi while laughing in amus.e.m.e.nt.
"I see, I see. You have quite a keen eye. I think that fellow was concealing herself quite well, but it seems she wasn"t able to hide. You became quite a youth with a bright future."
".........Hmm? I believe this is our first meeting though?"
"Indeed. It is our first meeting. But I believe you have met my sworn siblings. ───So? Have Kouryuu and Karyou been well?"
For an instant, Izayoi widened his eyes as if taken aback.
Kouryuu and Karyou that the horned handsome man spoke of, were the Saurian Demon King and Roc Demon King───part of the Seven Great Demon Kings from the Journey to the West.
The seven Demon Kings belonging to the community called "Seven Great Sages" created by the "Great Sage Equalling Heaven", Sun Wukong, were said to be the companions who exchanged the vows of siblinghood.
However after clearing up the crimes they committed as Demon Kings, Kouryuu and Karyou were now engaged in protection of Little Garden, and were also close to Sakamaki Izayoi.
All other five Demon Kings aside from these two also held great power, however the names of the two who were considered their leaders were so famous that their names were well known throughout heaven and earth.
And among the Demon Kings included in "Seven Great Sages", there was just one Demon King with bull horns.
And he was the legendary Great Demon King who was equal to "Great Sage Equalling Heaven", Sun Wukong. And the name of brave warrior, who once challenged the countless G.o.ds in order to save his sworn sister, and fought in order to "Pacify the Heaven" for the oppressed Monsters, was───
""Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven".........! So, you are the head of the seven siblings, the legendary Bull Demon King!?"
"Indeed! It is I who is the eldest brother of Seven Sages, as well as the one who controls the monsters spread throughout China!───Haha. I hear my siblings have been in your care during the fight with the Three Headed Dragon, Sakamaki Izayoi."
His tone was calm, however the ferocious fangs could be seen from time to time, unable to be concealed by the smile on his face.
Unable to suppress his aggressiveness at all, the Bull Demon King took out his specialized weapon which was a club with long handle, His glossy black hair started to trembled along with his soaring fighting spirit, and he gazed at Izayoi with red eyes.
"After hearing about heroic deeds of You and my siblings, I wanted to have a go with you once. I couldn"t get the chance until now, but it seems the opportunity has come now. ───Surely, you don"t intend to refuse, do you?"
"Well, I clearly also want to straightforwardly say "Let"s have a go by all means!", however........."
It was an unusual hesitation from Izayoi. No, he was troubled from the bottom of his heart. After all, it was a challenge from the world-famous Great Demon King. Refusing it would be too rude, and honestly speaking, it was wasteful.
He wasn"t really doing his duty for his siblings Kouryuu and Karyou, and he not feel like asking what organization the opponent was at this time, but now, there"s the disgrace of his comrade he has to pay back first.
It was too heavy of a burden to bear.........but then, he suddenly remembered about the person behind him.
It may be good to leave the repaying for the humiliation ten thousand fold to Tokuteru. It would be interesting to see the strong points of the strongest war G.o.d Indra───Is what Izayoi thought, however...
However Tokuteru"s expression was so stiff from the received shock that he couldn"t talk of something so frivolous.
The current conversation didn"t reach Tokuteru"s ears. His gaze was fixed directly at the blue-haired youth.
This is absurd.........Tokuteru muttered to himself as he shook his head left and right, denying the person before his eyes. Unable to bear such gaze of Tokuteru, the blue-haired youth quickly averted his eyes.
It seems they had their own complicated circ.u.mstances. As he reconsidered whether he should take them all on since the situation became like that, a new high-pitched laughter resounded within the labyrinth.
Judging from that laugh, it unmistakably belonged to a girl.
The girl who burst out laughing, unable to endure looking at this situation, appeared on the throne without a prior notice just like mist, and revealed herself before Izayoi and Tokuteru.
"Fu, fufu.........Oh, this is too interesting! Isn"t it, Bull Demon King! I of all people didn"t foresee this kind of development at all! To think that Indra would show such a bewildered face! I"m an old friend, but this is truly my first time seeing such expression of his.........!!!"
They one that appeared like mist and held her sides with laughter was a mysterious woman───no, by outward appearance, it"s more appropriate to call her a young girl.
Her age was even younger than Homura"s group. However, whilst she was developing, her soft, silken body would arouse the opposite s.e.x just with visible skin. Her thick yellow gown gave off divine vibes, but it didn"t resemble any of the cultural clothing that Izayoi was aware of.
Even from afar, he could understand that it was made of a high quality Eudemon leather, but anything beyond that was unknown. Perhaps, it was the work of a skill of a divine level judging from the level of it"s dying. It was difficult to discern her true ident.i.ty from personal belongings.
Just like the Bull Demon King, this girl also had horns growing out of her head, however he was able to understand that they weren"t cow horns. Perhaps, she was different race from the Bull Demon King───He didn"t want to think about it, but perhaps she was from the pure-blooded dragon species.
The Bull Demon King that she addressed sighed as if disappointed, put the club on his shoulder and stepped back.
".........I don"t sympathize with Indra, but there"s nothing wrong with that. I too have experienced a similar thing once. I can easily guess his inner state."
"Fufu, is that so? You also had your son taken by Buddhism, huh. .........Un, sorry. My joke went a bit too far, my comrade."
"I don"t mind. It"s already in the past. ───Leaving that aside, World King. Wasn"t the plan to introduce ourselves if you decided to show your face?"
"You mean, I should name it?"
"Of course. It would be chipping our good points if we, who are the guest leaders do it instead. The name of our alliance, announce it loudly!"
Bull Demon King took one more step back with a smile. The Girl of Dragon race called the World King, coughed in an unnatural way, stood on the throne and raised both hands.
Izayoi put himself on guard and started preparing for battle. Supposing that she is a pure-blooded dragon species. In other words, one of the strongest species. If he were to fight with her, he must be prepared for a mortal combat.
The girl called World King, as if boasting, and also, with amus.e.m.e.nt, spoke the name of her community.
"Now, let me name ourselves once more. ──Listen well, Oh great hero of the end! And the defender King of Buddhism! We are Ten Heavenly Thrones, a.s.sembled in order to take part in Sun Authority War and overcome the "Kali Yuga"!
"Avatāra" is our name! We are the group of the strongest kings, supervising the current Authority War!!!"
As the World King pointed at the heavens, the giant flag fluttered behind the three of them.
On it was depicted a crown representing the ten kings, and the rotating ring that signified the movement of the sun. The World King puffed her chest going to narrate what meaning that flag held, however her wish didn"t come true.
The moment she pointed at the sky───the ground of the labyrinth started to tremble. The whistle sound so as to break the s.p.a.ce rang out before long, and a giant Spirit train enough to cover the sky above the labyrinth came crashing down.
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