Campione! - Volume 19 - War of the Devil Kings, page 13
"Well, no matter. Let me say this once again. I am different from the barbaric old people, so I don’t particularly have the intention of consigning you to oblivion but――. Even so in this battle of the devil king civil war, I think the existence of Madam Aisha is one that ought to be eliminated first."
"Eeh!?"
"I will be grateful if you immediately surrender without any resistance."
"A, are you planning to imprison me somewhere, and then torturing me!?"
Imagining herself being captured, Aisha was feeling terror.
But Alec easily denied that.
"Unfortunately, you are a woman that can slip out through a wall unnoticed even if I locked you in a prison. A measure more than that is necessary I think."
"Mo, more than that!?"
"The fairy corridor……in the past, “that” also caused me to meet very bad experience. I’ll have you open it for you to travel at the super ancient times before the birth of humanity. Or else even without crossing through the age, I can have you crammed into a thick ice at Antartica so you can have a cold sleep……"
When Aisha was about to complain about how cruel he was,
Before she opened her mouth, a person appeared that called at the black prince in her place.
"You are also really cautious against Aisha-san huh, Gascoigne?"
Quite recently, she had passed a few months together with this young man in the ancient Gallia.
Kusanagi Godou. The young Campione that made this Tokyo as his home was staring sharply at Alec while approaching slowly.
Aisha twitched with her body stiffening from getting startled.
All the godslayer she encountered was aiming for her, so as expected she became uneasy.
However, the Japanese young man was――
"As for me, rather I’m in favor of Aisha-san’s opinion though."
"Hmph. Are you planning to decide who will confront the hero Rama by talking it with each other? You can make that gamble but the talk absolutely won’t be settled."
"I also agree with that. But, there are also other better methods aren’t there?"
The young Kusanagi decisively spoke when he arrived until nearby Aisha and Alec.
"If you are going to have Aisha-san open that corridor, then you might as well gather all the Campiones other than the one who will be the representative to fight Rama――and send them off to some period somewhere. In that case the remaining representative can fight without reservation. After all Rama will become unable to use the great law of covenant then."
"!?"
Aisha leaned her body forward. Certainly that method seemed like it could work well.
However, Alec’s face changed as though he had bitten something bitter and he sighed wearily.
"How shallow, Kusanagi Godou."
"Why do you say that?"
"You are overlooking two important factors."
"Two you say?"
"Yeah. I think you will notice the first reason before long so putting that aside……right now let’s talk about the biggest factor. Listen. The steering of sending six Campiones to another dimension――it will be left in the hand of Madam Aisha you know? Do you think that it will succeed without any accident?"
Alec was speaking only about the second point of his reasoning.
The moment he heard that, Kusanagi Godou went"Aa―……"in understanding. Seeing that, the wise black prince continued regretfully.
"You know just what kind of person madam is aren’t you? In addition, she is a woman who is habitually saving a lot of mileage of good and bad fortune. I――am scared that she is going to perpetrate something preposterous at the critical time. I really cannot have any confidence in her."
"…………"
"If you are planning to test this Campione time travel, then it should be used to make Madam Aisha travel alone instead. Because no matter what she perpetrated, it doesn’t change that the uncertain factor that will only throw the situation into chaos will be eliminated with that."
"Now that you say it, I think that there is also that method too……"
"Ku, Kusanagi-san!?"
Kusanagi Godou smiled a bit wryly hearing the astonished voice of Aisha.
On top of that he took a big step forward and stood on the way of Alec, in order to shut out the gaze of the black prince and covered Aisha behind his back.
"But, I have no intention of continuing the talk based on what if. Gascoigne, if you are planning to take away this person, then go only after defeating me first."
Part 3
"So, this time it’s Prince Alec that is standing in the way of Kusanagi Godou……"
"He is a strong willed person on top of being serious, so I thought that he would come out to proactively attack in the early stage. But having my prediction coming true like this, is not something pleasant."
A clash against a frequent powerful enemy.
Erica was shrugging at the side of the impressed Liliana.
The night where seven Campione had gathered in one place had passed, now it was Friday at the last week of February. At the evening where there was still a few more hours yet until the sun set, a new battlefield was forming in Odaiba.
"But, both Prince Alec and Godou are rational people, don’t you think that it won’t suddenly become a battle?"
Erica said.
On the rooftop of a eight storied building constructed at seaside, she was observing the ground from the edge of that place.
Three Campiones were in the middle of informal talk at the park a few hundred meters ahead. The two of them were using magic to reinforce eyesight, so they could even see the expression of the three.
The two men looked disappointed while Madam Aisha was all shaken up. Though the atmosphere was not a murderous one.
"Erica. Stop speaking of a possibility that even you don’t believe."
This time it was Liliana who spoke.
"Those two, it’s like they are not in sync even when they both have the same thinking. The one who said that was you."
"What a nostalgic story that is."
"By the point of time this combination met, it was already a countdown until the opening of battle."
"Even though just the cleaning up of Shinjuku was already a disaster, today will it be Odaiba that become the scene of a disastrous scene I wonder?"
"Rather I now want to suggest, can they instead just arrange for all the people in the capital to be evacuated all at once……"
Around this area was littered with logistics warehouse, so there were few people other than the staff.
However, if they walked a little they would reach a bustling area of the seaside subcenter of the city. The commerce and leisure facilities there were crowded to the limit. The crowd was something that couldn’t be sneezed at even in this weekday.
Fortunately, there was no sign of people nearby the three devil kings.
They were standing while talking at each other showered with the sea breeze of late afternoon at the park that was facing the sea――.
"What is fortunate from Shinjuku yesterday, is that both Marquis Voban and sect founder Luo Hao didn’t have any intention of a massacre."
"It was terrible for Amasaki-san and others who were collecting the victims that became werewolfs and salt statues though."
"It will be great if their work can be over today."
Having said that, thanks to the event happening late at night, the number of the victims itself could be held down.
For a place where three senior Campiones came across each other, they should rejoice instead that the damage to Shinjuku area was extremely little. However.
"But, I wonder if Shinjuku Imperial Garden will be able to return to normal?"
Erica tilted her head.
Shinjuku Imperial Garden that was transformed into “Demonic Forest” by cult founder Luo Hao’s authority.
Last night, Erica and Liliana infiltrated inside it.
Inside the forest, man-eating plants were crawling everywhere, things like poison miasma, dazzling fragrance, and so on were obstructing the advance of the knights. Sometimes there were even a yell that resembled a human scream coming from underground. Most likely it was impossible to discover Madam Aisha inside that demonic region.
But, before they gave up the search, Kusanagi Godou wielded the'sword'from outside the forest.
The words of power that cut apart the divine spirit – god Taisai of wood element――.
"When Godou used the'sword', the man eating plants and magic plants like mandragora lost their mystical force and they stopped moving but……the trees and flowers that grew excessively were still at the same shape."
"Even the sword words of power cannot erase the very growth of the plants."
Liliana also murmured.
"Until the end this is just my witch instinct. But even if they return to the vegetation when the park was normal, after half a year passed the spirit will be active again. Possibly the park’s state of pseudo “Demonic Forest” will continue forever……. At any rate, I think that park should be completely isolated for a while."
"Even us, although we escaped but it took quite a bit of effort."
"Madam Aisha accomplished an escape from such forest by herself, that’s why――"
"Those people, they are really absurd aren’t they……. Hey, Lily."
The gazes of the two were directed to the ground, there the black prince Alec and Kusanagi Godou were throwing provocative words at each other.
Erica spoke with a pondering look without taking off her eyes from there.
"Actually I have been thinking this from a long time ago. The authority of Campione, how much power it has when used in maximum strength――honestly speaking, perhaps it is still unclear with both of them isn’t it?"
"What?"
"If I have to speak from the one close to us, someone like Godou, his greatest firepower that is the'White Horse', we don’t understand that at all just how much destruction it can bring about."
"Now that you mentioned it, he said'It’s scary just how much its maximum power can do so I don’t try it out'……"
"He proclaimed that didn’t he? That’s right Lily. To say it positively then the authority of Campione is flexible, and saying it without any embellishment than it is just too vague, just where is the limit of the authority――everything is obscure in detail. But, if it’s material so that we can imagine various thing then I happen to have it."
Right after he became Campione, Kusanagi Godou confronted the god king Melqart.
At that time he used'White Horse'without thinking anything and unleashed a firepower that dissolved the whole harbor of the ancient city Palermo of Sicilia Island into melting liquid.
It was an act of barbarity right in the center of urban areas with lot of population.
As expected even “the man who wouldn’t stop when he got provoked” learned from experience, since then he was always deliberately holding back the might of'White Horse'. It was to the degree that he showed how he could target only a single ferry boat on a lake in his battle against Salvatore Doni right after that.
However――in reverse until now he had still never completely liberated the authority’s full power.
"I think Lu Yinghua said it before. That perhaps his master can change the whole Japan into decay world. Madam Aisha can also cause a severe famine with her winter authority, and above all is the monster that brought about the greatest calamity that was the historical destruction. Even Godou, actually it wouldn’t be strange if he could do something like――turning Kanto area into a burnt field with the blaze of'White Horse'. That thing, so to speak is a fragment of sun."(TN: Kanto is the eastern half of Japan, including Tokyo)
"Come to think of it even Lord Salvatore too――"
The leader of Southern Europe “King of Sword”. Liliana let out that name with a gloomy expression.
"Even though his worth should be only about cutting something into two with a sword, but is that really all……there were several cases that looked suspicious."
"Regarding that, I think that’s largely because Lord Andrea was also carrying information suppression……"
The butler of the sword king was an extraordinarily straitlaced person.
For the sake of the honor of Italia as well as Southern Europe’s magic world, he promptly concealed the scandal of his master and went through days of wracking his brain so that it wouldn’t spread to outside.
"Anyway. This kind of people is all gathering in one place, so the danger to the people of Tokyo should be at the level that is beyond description. Even now it is progressing in front our eyes."
"First we should pull them away from Odaiba, just as Kusanagi Godou instructed……"
"Yes."
On the ground, Kusanagi Godou was finally taking action.
Covering Madam Aisha behind him, he received the fighting spirit of prince Alec right from the front. The situation was already beyond explosive, the fire was already lit on the fuse.
The two knights exchanged glance and nodded at each other.
There was the plan for Liliana to leap between the three devil kings at appropriate timing, and used her forte the flying magic to take away her master the young man and Madam Aisha away. As much as possible she had to bring them away to a place without people――.
And then, at that time when the knights were about to move,
Both of them felt a presence behind them.
Without any sound just like a feather that was falling from the sky, someone landed softly. If the two of them didn’t strengthen their five senses using magic, they would surely didn’t notice it.
Speaking about an expert with such mastery of lightness――
"So it’s finally your entrance is it, Lu Yinghua. You are intending to hinder us?"
Erica spoke without even turning around.
Part 4
"It helps that Erica-neesan has quick thinking. There is no need to for unnecessary talk."
A voice of a young boy that sounded cheeky came as reply.
Red and blue, the two knights moved their eyes to that direction. The son of the distinguished Lu family of Hong Kong that boasted prodigious talent while at the age of fourteen――Lu Yinghua was grinning broadly.
Today he was unusually wearing an indigo blue Kung Fu outfit.
"Sorry, but I am ordered by master. Weaken Madam Aisha as much as possible. Corner both her mind and body and don’t let her relax as much as possible. That was what master told me."
"For that sake, you also won’t let Godou’s subordinates to interfere then?"
"Correct answer."
"Hmph. That’s underhanded instruction is not like the sect founder isn’t it."
Liliana spoke provocatively. But, the personal pupil of the magic cult founder was calm.
"I always said it didn’t I. Master is a person that firmly differentiate between a fight and a war. She is recognizing……that Madam Aisha cannot be finished off just by a one on one match of swinging her fist. Son Go’s Stratagem,Methods of the Sima, Six Secret Teachings――without exhausting all kind of strategy, she is not an opponent that could be finished off, she said."(TN: Those are the name of art of war that is not written by Sun Tzu but by other famous strategists of China)
"I feel like I understand."
Erica nodded.
"The madam is certainly a lady that is especially outside the standard even among the Campiones."
"As a human she is quite a good person though. Well, because of that reason, the me today will take the enemy role against you two Nee-san after so long."
Saying that, Yu Linghua――didn’t take the stance of martial art.
Languid. Both his hands were dangling down languidly without any tension, he was just standing still in one place. However, his gaze and bearing were obviously filled with blood thirst and fighting spirit.
"This is the strict order of master, I won’t make any allowance."
Even though he was saying that far, but both his arms were still'languid'.
It seemed that he intended to fight like that. As expected from a wonder child of martial world, he was showing them a prodigious movement right from the start of the face-off.
It didn’t seem that there was any other way to go past him other than keeping him company until the end.
Erica was bravely showing a smile of female lion and took a step forward.
A thin long sword suddenly appeared on her right hand. A sword with the name of Cuore de Lione.
"Be thankful. I’m nominating myself as your dance partner."
"One won’t be enough you know. You two Nee-san, I’ll take care of the two of you at the same time. I want Liliana-neesan to keep me company too here."
"It’s unfortunate but――I have some place to go to!"
Liliana quickly broke into a dash with all her strength.
She entrusted this place to her blond rival cum sworn friend and hurried to her lord’s side. However, at that moment the wonder child of martial world finally came at her with an attack!
"Ha!"
"I’ll leave it to you okay, Lily!"
*Kiin!* A high-pitched metallic sound reverberated.
The arm that Lu Yinghua languidly dangled down――that right arm bent like a whip and threw something toward the running Liliana. Erica swept it away with the magic sword of lion…….
A metallic sound due to the instantaneous offense and defense.
Cuore de Lione deflected something hard.
Liliana rushed without even ascertaining Lu Yinghua’s weapon. As might be expected from one who was even called as fairy of sword, her legs were wonderfully fast and light.
She ran until the edge of the rooftop almost instantly and leaped without hesitation.
From the building rooftop toward the ground where Kusanagi Godou and others were at. She leaped over a few hundred meter in one go!
On the other hand, Erica and Lu Yinghua’s offense and defense continued.
*hyun hyun hyun hyun hyun hyun!*
The weapon that Lu Yinghua was swinging around was 110 centimeter long. It was similar with a whip. Each time it cut the air it produced the sound of cutting wind. Nine thin metallic sticks were connected with iron ring, it was an'iron whip with joint'. And then――
