Campione!

Chapter 4 - Name of the God Heralding Midwinter?Part 1Subsequently about ten minutes after contacting Yuri, Godou got in touchwith a certain someone.In fact, he notified her by saying 'Santa Clauses are being greyified onceagain!'. He also wanted to utilize that familiar she used in the past tosearch for the culprit.However, he relinquished that idea after sensing there was some kind ofindescribable danger.Viewing it from the perspective of a baseball team, expectations woulddictate Kusanagi Godou to be either the fourth hitter or catcher. Thesewere the positions he was accustomed to ever since he was a child.On offense, the pinch hitter was allowed to distance hit. On defense, thepitcher and outfielders would be instructed to set up a containment. Therewere no inconspicuous movements on his side.However, the fourth hitter for some reason decided to bunt the ball.The catcher, who was supposed to be like a calm and unwavering centralcontrol tower, wanted to play in the outfield.This type of vulgarness was comparable to the current situation.Overextending oneself. The furthest thing from playing to one's talents.Didn't Amakasu mention earlier? "This is something that can be cleared upas soon as we sent out Committee members to investigate." Godou had nowish to trouble others even though the problem would be resolved withouthim doing anything personally.Why did they have to operate in this fashion? They were still far fromhaving the right person in the right place.He felt profoundly dissatisfied .This was why Godou was determined to get in touch with that person.During times like these, he no, she should be someone he could relyon.Presently on the 20th of December, two hours had passed.Godou had avoided the gaze of Shizuka and snuck out of the house.He boarded Amakasu Touma's car on Kototoi Street and headed offtowards Area 3 of the Chiyoda ward. The setup of this ghost house-likewestern-style mansion gave the impression that they wanted to silentlyconceal themselves along this alleyway.This place was where the person in charge of the Tokyo division of theHistory Compilation Committee resided.To say that she was a beautiful girl would be too neutral and her voice wastoo thin to be considered a beautiful boy. Incidentally, this woman was veryadept at fooling around and among strategists, she was quite problematicto deal with"Thank you for being able to come my King. Today I, Sayanomiya Kaoru, aperson of humble talent, intend to use everything in my power to assistKusanagi Godou."The person who greeted them at the front door was Kaoru who waswearing a formal black butler's outfit.She chose to speak in an incomparably exaggerated form, but the way sheconveyed it was very natural.Her bout of courtesy was humorous but also very elegant. Chuckling,Kaoru seemed to be completely at ease when she gave her witty greeting."I feel there is absolutely no need for this kind of flattery Why are youdressed up?""Since Kusanagi-sama wanted to personally come for a visit, I wanted totry and spruce up a bit for the occasion. Let's put this matter aside for now,please enter. Yuri and Liliana-san have already arrived."Wearing a perfectly overdone men's outfit, this girl emitted a frivolousexpression towards Godou.After being invited inside her residence, two of his old acquaintancesreappeared in the lounge."Godou-san, we were waiting for your arrival.""We heard that the phenomenon happened again."Seeing that this more or less turned into a formal mission for theCommittee members, Yuri wore her entire miko attire while Liliana wasdressed in a blue vest with black pants.Godou and the others entered the spacious study together.This area was actually Kaoru's office. It had also become the meetingroom to assess countermeasures against heretic gods many times in thepast. Godou proceeded to sit down on the couch. Afterwards, Liliana alsosat down to his right.She was completely oblivious, sitting down as if it was her establishedspot.Their line of sight crossed paths. Liliana flashed an eye signal and Godouresponded by nodding his head. It was finally time to thoroughlyinvestigate the facts. The commencement of a critical juncture hasinitiated."? What's the matter Mariya?"Godou inadvertently glanced at Yuri only to see she for some reason helda very staunch expression while gazing at him and Liliana.After questioning her, the hime-miko suddenly became flustered and satdown towards Godou's left."N-Nothing's wrong. Speaking of which Godou-san, I'm not sure when itbegan but the relationship between you and Liliana-san has become muchmore intimate ""Intimate uh, well, compared to our relationship from before it hasimproved slightly. Right Liliana?""Y-Yes I agree. Returning to that topic Kusanagi Godou, since when didyour relationship with Mariya became much friendlier compared to before?As expected, this is probably the reason why there were rumors aboutyou.""Eh?" Godou was puzzled after hearing Liliana satirizing him."Yes, that must be it. Despite having additional vacant spots, Mariya Yurisat by your side without the slightest hesitation. This is something I neverwould have imagined until this day."" ! ? T-This meeting is only to discuss matters regarding thephenomenon in detail with Godou-san."While replying, Yuri completely lost her composure due to fear from thissudden criticism."Also, it was Liliana-san who started this.""1-1 had the position of assisting Kusanagi Godou for this situation. Beinghis consultant, I'm only sitting at my natural post. And furthermore, eventhe way you address him has changed "The latter part of Liliana's words became a whining murmur that wasdifficult to hear discernibly.No matter how one looks at it, he was caught between the two girls. Theatmosphere became a tad awkward.During this time, Godou coincidentally remembered something. Being ableto strengthen his relationship with others was favorable. However, perhapstheir relationship was a bit more unrestrained in the past ?"Hey. I see, so that was it."On the other side, the calmly awaiting Kaoru who dressed up like a butlerseemed to laugh out of amusement and nodded her head.They appeared to be waiting and watching each other's responses. Justexactly what did she realize? Godou thought it was strange but alsoexpressed gratitude towards Kaoru. All of the responsibilities for thearrangement at this location fell onto her.In this chaotic situation, there was Yuri's spirit vision and the mysterioustrump card Erica held. These matters should be quickly sorted out. Out ofeveryone gathered here, the most suitable candidate to accomplish thiswas none other than Kaoru.Therefore, he used his cellphone to contact Kaoru. Within an hour hereceived a return call from her. At that time Kaoru straightforwardly told him"the location arrangements for the emergency meeting has been set,please head over at this time. Erica-san will be there as well."Her ability and skill to get the job done were still as good as ever. IfSayanomiya Kaoru was born in the right time period, she would have themoral character of a 'feudal leader' or a 'bishop'. Who made such a remarkbefore?"Looks like I made everyone wait."Moreover, this girl seemed to take the role of a person who enters thestage last. Her attire consisted of a red overcoat along with tight blackpants, paying tribute by pairing up 'red and black' as usual."After being contacted by Kaoru, I told Arianna to find the appropriate item.She went through the entire house, spending thirty minutes to find this. Mymaid, who also acts as my assistant, is really quite capable isn't she?"Upon entering the study, she spoke with a tone of brightness. She didn'teven do anything but it was like a shameless admission nevertheless. Sherevealed a broad smile, as expected of Erica Blandelli's temperament.Erica suddenly revealed her findings which was a plain wooden chest.The size of the cover attached to the top could fit into a person's hand. Itwas black in color and looked quite decrepit.A click sound was made as Erica opened the lid. The contents inside weremerely two, three dried up pieces of fruit that were about the same size asa ping pong ball.It resembled nothing other than some sort of dried up fruit."Out of the magic related items I brought to Japan, this was one that Ioriginally did not have on me at the time. It was not one of the items thatcame from Milan either. However, why would something like this be mixedin with the other stuff in my apartment? It is quite a peculiar predicament."Erica was smiling while looking around inside the wooden chest. She hada brazen smile that was without fear, like a malevolent lion skulking aroundto get in front of its prey."If you trust the note attached to the top of the chest, this box appears tobe from the past probably more than one hundred years ago. It was anobject brought to earth by a heretic god appearing in Turkey. Recentlythere seems to have been various kinds of strange events occurring. In noway can the name of this god be just a coincidental match to what hasoccurred during these phenomenons."" Quit posturing. Hurry up and say the name of the god already."Liliana interrupted her."What's so awful about a climax of this degree, Lily? I will never flounderthe chance to be on center stage. This stunt is something everyone shouldknow about me, Erica Blandelli."After leisurely speaking, Erica suddenly announced:"The name of the god is Saturnus. He was believed to be the god ofagriculture in the Ancient Roman Empire. He is an existence who gave thepopulace crops and produce. Furthermore, he brought along the divinefestival that Christmas originated from."Liliana gently nodded. It looks like she recognized the name.Saturnus, it should be the first time he heard that name right? Godou feltslightly ill at ease.However, right now he had to ask about the doubts encountered frombefore."The origins of Christmas?""During the end of the year in Ancient Rome, they would conduct a grandfestival for Saturnus every December. They dance, sing, drink wine, makea racket, and heartily cheer with merriment."Erica spoke with her usual clear-cut tone."The title of the god of agriculture originated from the appreciation of thecurrent year's harvest and the festival where prayers were held for abountiful harvest the following year. During this festival, there appears tohave been some sort of social custom where people present tree branchesand fruits as gifts to each other. After this social custom was popularized inChristianity, remnants of it remained in various parts of Europe andeventually transformed into a social custom where 'gifts were to beexchanged during the festival hosted at the end of the year'.""A couple of days ago I mentioned that Saint Nicolas was a Saint whobrought the fruits of harvest. Saturnus was also a god of agriculture but hedates back much farther in time compared to the Saint of Christianity."Liliana added on to that as if she was supplementing the explanation."By around the 11 th century, Christianity had extended throughout Europe.During a time much prior to that, Europeans worshiped Cronus^, Freyr 2 ^,Dagda^ and other indigenous gods of agriculture. Nevertheless, followingthe popularization of Christianity, these ancient gods were replaced bySaint Nicolas. The birth of Jesus Christ served as a form of replacementfor the social custom of the great winter festival."Using our modern calendar, the harvest festival is held around December.This wasn't a rare occurrence for those who engaged within the the realmsof agriculture. This festival was even held in ancient Egypt.""Erica-san may I take a look at that thing?"Yuri shyly asked Erica who was recounting unexpected information. Hergaze was cast towards the contents from inside the chest that the blondebeauty held in her hands."Of course, you didn't have to ask. Perhaps if we rely on Yuri's power wecan see something that evades us."Yuri walked towards Erica after leaving the couch.She extended her hand to borrow the wooden chest of hers. Her paleindex finger and middle finger reached into the wooden chest, tremblingwith fear as she touched the dried fruits dating over 100 years old.Following that, Yuri's facial expression suddenly became very stiff. Itseemed like she had a pretty clear impression from her spirit vision.However, instead of being jubilant, Godou actually felt worried becauseYuri's expression became excessively rigid."Does this mean it was an ominous proclamation?"Yuri then anxiously replied to the worried Liliana."Y-Yes. I'm afraid that the massive power force I saw in connection to thisfruit was located somewhere in Tokyo Bay. Furthermore, this force existsin close proximity to the city area."Part 2After Yuri described the scene she saw from her spirit vision, Kaoru winkeddiscreetly.The person who received this wink was none other than her trusty aide,Amakasu.Even if his working attitude was extremely lackluster, it would still beunthinkable for anyone to doubt the special personnel's abilities. He tookout a cellphone from his wrinkled suit and began negotiating withsomeone. Shortly after, the conversation ended.After thirty minutes had passed, Kusanagi Godou was sitting in isolationaboard a speedboat along Tokyo Bay.Who knows what sort of connections he had tapped into. The role of theOfficial History Compilation Committee was to arrange a patrol boat fromthe Japanese Coast Guard for Kusanagi Godou to ride on."The ocean is still freezing at night ""Indeed "Yuri chimed in during Godou's muttering.Under these circumstances, it was inevitable that his body would beexposed to the piercing ocean breeze on the deck of the boat. The howlingwind mercilessly snatched his body temperature. Furthermore it was stillevening, which meant even the benefit of the sun was gone in this darkperiod of time. This further sped up the decrease of temperature."Mariya, don't you feel cold wearing that ? Oh yeah, there is a sparecoat on the ship, you should probably borrow it. Just placing it over yourbody will be fine."Yuri was wearing her usual attire which consisted of white robe plus ahakama.Wearing something as thin as this on dry land would still be chilly, but inthis case they were on a boat. In fact, Yuri's glamorous eyebrows whichwere exposed to the ocean gust had already turned pale."No thanks. The clothing I wear can't be too thick, otherwise the sensingwill become slower. Even like this, there is no need to worry about me."Because of the freezing ocean winds during the night, a person's bodywould definitely feel chilled to the bone.Even under these conditions, Yuri did not withdraw due to the cold nor didshe blow warm air onto her hands to warm herself. Rather, she firmlystraightened her body and sternly stood there."Was the sensing you mentioned before referring to your spirit vision?""It does include that as well as the psychic sensing. Right now the sensingpower is being extended in all directions to probe for the god's aura.Because there needs to be a slight adjustment in its strength, the coldtemperature actually makes it easier to accomplish."Right now the only people on the deck of the patrol boat were Godou andYuri. The hime-miko utilized an uncommon ability of hers. She wascurrently looking for the location that matched the scene from her recentspirit vision."Ah so when it's cold it's somewhat easier to concentrate spiritually."Godou utilized a sports mentality and nodded.Morning exercises and martial arts activities during the winter time wouldlead to a rush of adrenaline and an elevated mental concentration.Perhaps those that loathe exercising were incapable of understanding theappeal of this."Actually, within the religious practices of the hime-miko, one must bearthrough winter's intense beatings.""Very impressive. It has a miko-sama feeling to it.""Yes, and with the other hime-mikos who were engaging in these religiouspractice, we learned on the spot together. Everyone showed restraint inspite of the adversity.""Showing restraint in adversity?""In short, something cold can still get colder."The hime-miko rarely joked like this. Godou wryly smiled and Yuri alsorevealed a smile that resembled a sakura wafting through the air. Normallythis playful smile was never seen so it felt very refreshing."Then are you forcefully bracing yourself right now?""Honestly speaking, I am. My fingertips are so cold that they are practicallynumb."Yuri's smile felt like it was done in distress as she raised her white fingers.Even as she did this, her finger remained firm. Her gentle expression andmanners were both peaceful as usual. The ability of this hime-miko toshow restraint under these conditions had already been practiced to thepoint of perfection.Although she said she didn't feel anything, Godou was still concerned forher."Really ? Ha ha, looks like it. At least it would do you some good towarm up a little."Godou muttered and unconsciously grabbed Yuri's hand.It was as cold as ice. Only after he confirmed that her hand was colderthan ice did Godou notice it. What am I doing? His and Yuri's line of sightconnected.Until just now, the hime-miko was always trying her best to show restraintunder these rough conditions.Her beautiful and composed facial expression in an instant turnedcompletely red as she lowered her head.The reason was certainly because Godou was holding her luxurioushand ."I-I'm sorry! I totally didn't mean to act so recklessly!"Godou immediately apologized. It was very unfathomable. He naturallyextended his hand as if he felt he already held hands with Yuri many timesbefore. This explains why he unconsciously stuck out his own handcasually for confirmation .Right now there should a scene where she would for sure say "what areyou doing!?" in rage.Anticipating the hime-miko to be rightfully angry, Godou was mentallyprepared to willingly withstand her vehemence.However, Yuri instead lowered her head in embarrassment and mumbled:"l-l understand. My fingers have already warmed up a bit."Speaking of which, Godou was still holding Yuri's hand.To one's surprise, he had carelessly forgotten about releasing her hand.But thanks to this, the temperature from Godou's hand was able to betransferred to Yuri's hand, which slightly added some heat.Surely enough, the tips of the hand, foot and such were much moresusceptible to the cold for women compared to men.Godou, who had yet to release her ice cold hands, felt embarrassed andunwittingly said:"l-lt should be fine after warming up for a bit longer right ?""Y-Yes, you're right. If it is too excessive then the sensing will becomeslower. Just for a bit longer really one minute, no, even if it's just thirtyseconds then "In response to Yuri's reply, Godou rubbed her hand.Thirty seconds, no, a minute had quickly passed. However, he still wantedto warm her up a little and slowly continued rubbing.Afterwards, Yuri and Godou's line of sight matched up. The two of theminstantly lowered their gaze.Yuri still hasn't said 'that should be good enough' to signal him to stop. Asa result, Godou never had the time to say 'it should be about time toseparate our hands'."Something like this won't affect your probing right?"A calm voice interrupted them. Godou and Yuri released each other's handin panic and looked in the direction where the voice came from.As it turns out, Liliana was currently walking in their direction with Ericaright behind her."I brewed some coffee even though we were in a rush. I thought thatMariya Yuri would feel very cold in her mission to oversee the monitoringso I felt very bad about this."O-Oh, I see! But it's nothing serious. Being slightly cold will allow thesensing to become very sharp!"Yuri involuntarily used a brisk manner of speaking in reply to Liliana whowas holding the thermos."Compared to this thermos, your body temperature seems to haveincreased greatly it's the same for Kusanagi Godou."Liliana commented using a ridiculing tone while staring at the blushingred-eared Yuri and Godou.Both of them had no way to retort what she said. They could only lowertheir heads and look down enduring the embarrassment."Well, isn't this the perfect time to take a break? Yuri, please take a break.Letting someone with irreplaceable talent such as you have a rest is alsoincluded within my duties."Erica seemed to find this amusing as she interrupted them.Furthermore, she gracefully chuckled while saying to her old friend andcompetitor:"Even though I clearly understand Lily's resentment, you shouldn't be toohard on Yuri. Delving into a woman's jealous state of mind doesn't suit youat all.""J-Jealousy!?"Erica's statement left Liliana staring tongue tied."Yes. Actually, I recently heard an uncanny rumor regarding you. Yet youthink it's some crazy fabricated statement. However, after you see it foryourself you will understand that this rumor lived up to its word.""W-What kind of rumor did you hear Erica?"Godou inquired because he felt a troubling premonition.Hence, the girl who had the alias of Diavolo Rosso raised her head ofgolden hair which gave an impression of royalty and her pupils flashed witha rebellious and judgmental intent towards the devil king."Of course I'm referring to the love triangle you three have!""What! ?" "Eh! ?" "Love triangle! ?"Godou, Yuri, and Liliana were all speechless. Moreover, Erica was gettingmore and more enthusiastic as she spoke."Due to the inadequate relationship Kusanagi Godou and Liliana Kranjcarhave, it appeared the two of them were recently going between eachother's houses frequently In addition, news of Kusanagi Godou'salternative lover was uncovered by Mariya Yuri. He even kneeled down forforgiveness.""l-ls it like this Kusanagi Godou! ?""So the rumors were true! ? Ugh, to think that I had been astutely deceivedby you before !"Most of what Erica said was true, however she snuck in subtle facts thatwould lead to misunderstandings.Yuri shivered at this revelation and gazed at Godou in shock.As for Liliana, he was faced with a chiding look from her."With only the evidence from the situation, it seems that the referees' viewsof you are quite unfavorable. However, there is something else I shouldadd. It's easy to believe that no matter what the circumstances were,Kusanagi Godou would never have this sort of ambition. Because Yuri andLiliana are both intelligent girls, you two mustn't be fooled by men like him."Erica was nonchalantly judging Godou as she spoke."However I'm still very naive. Yuri and Liliana's complexion completelyturned into that of a woman. Looks like you used some brilliant method todeceive the two of them, right Kusanagi Godou?""This is a misunderstanding! I haven't done anything to victimize them! Youtwo agree right?""Y-Yes. At the very least I haven't had this happen to me!""Exactly. At the very minimum he didn't do anything that resembled adeceitful and spurious relationship to me!"The dialogue of the two girls appeared to have some subtle implications inresponse to Godou's question.Plus, Yuri's gaze still flickered between Godou and Liliana while Lilianautilized an investigative look at Godou and Yuri. Both of them carried adepressed expression on their face.Godou admitted defeat. He never thought it would turn out like this.Nevertheless, Erica's arrival without a doubt strengthens the unity betweenthe girls.Surely enough, when this girl arrived on stage the entirety of the situationwill be altered. Regardless if it was for better or worse, she always becamesomeone that people revolved around. Imposing her creative thinkingwithin a team, she would become the focal point.While he was clarifying this point, Godou and the others each drank a cupof coffee to warm up their body.After that, in order to once again raise her concentration, Yuri distancedherself from Godou and the others to be alone. She then closed her eyes.Expanding her psychic sensing, she was probably probing the sea withinclose proximity."How is Amakasu-san doing in chasing that spirit?""Well, he is only pursuing the prankster who covered Santa Clauses ingrey. I don't think anything out of the ordinary will happen "The red and blue knights were conversing while eyeing Yuri who wascurrently concentrating on her psychic sensing.Before setting out, Liliana had used the familiar from before to probe theearth's aura.Even though the matter with the most priority was the gate to Yuri's spiritvision, that other aspect could not be ignored either. Hence, Amakasuheaded towards that location.On the other side, Godou actually savored some sort of strange feelingand felt uneasy.If it was during combat, his concentration would be raised to a high degreeat will, transforming into his most optimal state. If a heretic god was nearbythen a sense of elation along with a violent surge of power for battle wouldoccur within his body and mind.This was the body of a godslaying Campione.Right now those feelings were totally nonexistent. Their destination was ofcourse very treacherous.Just when Godou was pondering over this dilemma, Yuri finally opened hereyes and returned.There was actually nothing necessary to add regarding the struggle thatwill happen afterwards. Because an intense battle did not come to fruition,this subject was simply dropped.Yuri's psychic sensing detected something on the waters of the Kasaiseacoast.It was a large emblem made out of stone. A stone sculpture that seemed tobe carved out of a material like marble. The shape of a bird spreadingopen its wings was visible.What was bizarre about the sight was for a bird emblem to actually emergefrom the surface of the sea.Moreover, it seemed like it was rooted there. Even though it was exposedto the intense ocean waves it remained motionless. It was solidlyentrenched to the earth and fastened.Liliana, who was looking at the emblem residing on the ocean surface fromthe edge of the patrol boat, displayed an incomprehensible expression.Her hand was holding onto the familiar a doll that had the shape of apig-"What's wrong?""This child couldn't sense the aura of the earth. Even though the powerfrom the fruits of the trees was connected to Saturnus, I still think that itmust be related to the omens of earth's bountiful harvests "Considering the various circumstances to this situation, thinking in this waywas only natural.Godou could not help but look at Yuri. With her more efficacious spiritvision powers compared to Liliana, she should be capable of discoveringsomething. Godou figured it would be like this. Consequently, thehime-miko had an apologetic expression and said:"I'm very sorry. Even I can't see what kind of power is hidden. All I see issome sort of grey mist surrounding that emblem.""Did you say mist?""Yes. To put it simply, it appears someone is hiding its true form."After Yuri quietly finished speaking, she once again gazed towards thatemblem."Right now that emblem is emitting a power that corresponds to a god ofearth. Just then sprouts were germinating. Godou-san, if we get any closerwe might provoke it.""Is this the divinity of the land that was born from the unidentifiedomens ?""It looks like using ordinary methods will not work on this opponent!"Liliana muttered while Erica on the other hand blatantly cut her off.The knights' lines of sight were also fixated on the emblem on the surfaceof the ocean. Meanwhile, Godou also noticed the enormous amount ofmagical power being emitted in front of him.As expected, this was the rejection between godslayers and godlypossessions.The nerves will always tense up when there is a burst of increasing divineenergy.A parasitic plant with a trunk, branches and dense flourishing foliageresembling that of an evergreen tree, was growing vigorously nonstop!At first it was a small shrub. Then it turned into an enormous tree rightbefore their eyes. The tree even appeared to be hundreds of years in age.Finally, within a very brief period, a parasitic-like tree emerged at thecenter of Tokyo Bay. The height had to be above thirty meters. The tree'sconstitution was also proportional in magnificence to its height.In terms of age, it certainly had the immense structure of a tree that wasover one-thousand years old.His Campione instincts told him that it was not a heretic god. However, herealized this existence was related to heretic gods since there wasdefinitely divine power lodged within the tree."Since this lesser god, a divine beast, had an organic form, this thing isprobably a divine plant or a divine tree."Erica spoke admirably.On the other side, the divine plant that suddenly sprouted rustled as itsbranches swayed. It began to emit a solemn incantation from its entirebody.It was simply in a frenzy, on the verge of confrontation."What a bastard, this tree actually wants to fight me!"The vindictive aura and desire to battle emitted by the divine tree wasdefinitely towards him, hence it came after Godou.Using his Campione battling intuition, he personally felt this was the case.Even though it had the form of a tree, it was still an existence related togods. It appeared to show hostility towards the godslayer, butJust a moment ago, Erica compared it to a divine beast. In short, itsstrength should be quite unsubstantial.If it were to face a Campione, it would clearly be considered a weakopponent ."Godou-san!" "Kusanagi Godou, over there!"At this moment, the hime-miko and witch coincidentally warned him at thesame time.Did they acquire a spirit vision? They were pointing above a certain thicktree branch on the divine tree in front of them. Quietly standing straight atthat place was the Grey One !It had the same form as the one from a couple days ago with the sailclothcovering its entire body.During the follow-up at that time they found out that a few minutes prior,Amakasu was within Tokyo near the Aoyama district and had encounteredthe Grey One and pursued it. However, right at that moment was when theGrey One appeared in front of Godou as well. His pursued target hadsuddenly disappeared."Did this guy get resurrected over this period of time? Or did anothersimilar guy appear? Which one is it "Godou grumbled while investigating what its true identity was.The Grey One was walking on top of the branch while touching the divinetree's trunk. Following that, its sailcloth covered hand sank into the tree'sepidermis!Soon after its hand was buried inside. Even the elbow and shoulder wereeventually engulfed.In the end its remaining head, body, and feet were completely submergedinside the divine tree. The Grey One had completed its assimilation.Furthermore, Godou noticed something."It's withering ?"Up until now it had been a thriving lush colossal divine tree.The delicate green tree leaves instantly dried up. The appearance of thetree branch and trunk seemed water deprived, dried up, withered. Shortlyafter, the small tree branches started to fall off one after another. Thesplash created foam on top of the water as soon as it crashed into the sea.Furthermore, it was similar to the Grey One who committed suicidebefore .The divine tree slowly crumbled like a building made of sand. Its remnantsdrifted towards the sky as parts of it were carried by the ocean breeze.What remained was the bird emblem floating on the surface of the ocean.It still remained motionless despite the force of the ocean waves as if itwas rooted firmly on the ocean surface."This time did the Grey One kill the divine tree ?""It intentionally slaughtered its ally after meeting a Campione?Understanding the reasoning behind this is impossible."Liliana and Erica both spoke with a perplexed expression. Godou tried toask Yuri."What do you think Yuri? Since this has happened, do you believe thedisturbance will settle down?""W-What will happen ? I just have an uneasy feeling in my chest. If itcontinues like this, the same thing will happen again no, I feel thissituation may worsen."Godou nodded as if indicating "yes" towards Yuri's worried declaration.Had the large divine tree attacked a moment ago, the summoning of theBoar would probably be enough to comfortably kill it. But without having todo any of that, those guys had already vanished by themselves.Perhaps this was the critical point in time .Part 3Once the unexpected evening cruise at Tokyo Bay was over, Godoureturned home at one in the morning.However, he did not go to sleep right away. He sat seiza-style on hissheets and continuously pondered over the situation for about two hours.Afterwards, morning came around with Godou waking up at six o'clock. Ona notepad, he wrote that he did not require breakfast and then departedfrom the house before Shizuka woke up.He then immediately snuck into the empty classroom and continued tocontemplate over the situation. Ever since yesterday, he became reallyconcerned over this matter. After reflecting about it without interruption allthe way till fifteen minutes before class started did he finally arrived at ananswer. Godou let out a heavy sigh.In the end, it was going to end up like this wasn't it? This answer was onethat he could somewhat accept.It was braving the risk of Shizuka saying "Why did you leave the house soearly in the morning!? Are you trying to stealthily hide something sinisterfrom me?" later on. After evaluating in solitude he had arrived at thisconclusion.Soon after, he returned to his normal state of mind.Liliana arrived at school and briefly conversed with the others. Shereceived an elegant greeting and a sneer from Erica as well as aninvitation by Nanami and the three idiots which went as followed, "Themaid coffee shop is already outdated, let's enjoy the winter special at thefrequently visited maid slushie shop, the large strawberry slushie".During this time, before he knew it class had begun.Today was December 21st. It was the day of the end of term ceremony.After the ceremony concluded without a hitch, Godou welcomed the end ofschool.Winter break was currently underway. Of course, the insides of theclassrooms and school were still permeating with energy. There werestudents who went out to play directly after school as well as a group whodiscussed about the scheduled activities during break. However, Godouchose not to participate in this kind of fervor.He immediately left the classroom and seized Yuri from the adjacentclassroom.Moreover, he repeatedly pleaded to her to inform him of the state of affairsregarding the post-event processing for the event from yesterday night."Everyone in the committee were discussing whether or not we could shutdown this phenomenon However, I'm afraid it was a god who createdthat divine artifact. I think the probability of a human creating it is extremelylow "This was what Yuri anticipated.After thanking her for providing this information, Godou headed towardsthe gym."What's the purpose for asking me to come to this kind of place?"Erica, who had come to this location, spoke with a commanding tone.Whether slinging criticisms with polite sarcasm or acting mysteriouslyill-tempered, Erica's recent attitude towards Godou carried elements ofboth. No, even before that he had always felt this wayIn short, the reason was probably because she wished to avoid having afriendly conversation with him.However, Godou wanted to converse with Erica right now. Even thoughthis was the case, he felt if he just brought up the topic upfront he wouldeasily be evaded in a graceful manner just like before.So he thought of a plan which involved using an email to call her out.After the end of term ceremony I'll be waiting in the sports field. P.S. Don'trun away ."Recently the amount of exercising I have been doing isn't adequate. Iwould like to give my body a bit of a workout."It was the baseball field for the academy's high school section. Godoustood at the field's home plate as he spoke. Placed by his feet werebaseball bats, gloves, and balls taken from the sports storage room."Accompany me for a bit. You've played prior to class before so it shouldbe no problem right?"Godou spoke as he grabbed a glove and baseball."Even if you are my opponent, I will still pitch an unhittable ball.""You sure know how to flatter yourself. You ought to know that I, EricaBlandelli, am a girl who can do more than just wield a sword right? Thereare very few weapons that I can't utilize as I please."Even though the provocation was unremarkable, it appears that he hadprovoked her fighting spirit.Unable to resist letting out a small burst of laughter, she picked up thebaseball bat. Simply just this behavior alone was like part of an agile danceroutine, a picturesque action.Was this thanks to being born with athletic aptitude and a Latin sense ofrhythm?"I was still thinking about the recent touchy feely business going onbetween you, Lily, and Yuri and that you should receive a suitablepunishment. You asking for trouble like this actually really makes mehappy.""W-What punishment? Hey."What was her reason for being that easily provoked? Godou started tocomplain in response."I didn't do anything to them. Our relationship only improved just a bit.""Do you think only an improvement in relationship would result in a lovetriangle? I can't believe this would happen unknowingly. Being as foolishand unwitty as you, you wouldn't know how to read the mood and coweraway from girls. Also, during those times you always act carefree. Justwhat I would expect from Kusanagi Godou's personality.""D-Don't act like you can see through my personality!""See through you? Matters regarding you I always seem to eh?"Erica revealed a perplexed expression. Godou also had a feeling ofuneasiness. They were currently conversing during their pitchingcompetition. The communication link to their dialogue seemed to havebeen severed by scissors"Forget about it. In a moment I will have you experience my supremacy!"Erica brushed aside any hesitation and proceeded to put her hand on theuniform's dress.She tore it apart without any hesitation, making a tear on each side to giveherself more mobility. Furthermore, she raised the baseball bat in anupward slant. She made this posture predicting she would hit a homerun.Overall her appearance was like a drawing. However, that posture wascomposed of gorgeousness. Even the aura of a slugger emanated fromher.After being separated for so long, he once again experienced Erica's talentand beauty. Godou felt inconceivably upbeat. As expected, without thiskind of behavior it would not be her.Godou felt the corners of his mouth rise as he proceeded to the pitchingmound."Let's start with five pitches ok? If you are able to send a ball flying thenyou win.""Ara, giving me such advantageous conditions, are you sure about that?""Haha, it'll be fine this time. Here I come."Following that, Godou pitched five balls in a row. Erica's baseball bat wasunable to even graze one ball. No, she actually didn't even swing once."Hey Godou aren't the balls you just pitched overlooking the premise ofbaseball?"Within the words of the red colored devil carried a tone of criticism as shemuttered."The balls should be pitched directly towards me with the outcome ofwhether I hit it or not being the competition in progress right? However, theballs you pitched were all excessively too high or to the sides."Precisely as Erica said, Godou's pitches were atrociously thrown.The balls that Godou pitched staggered either too far to the side or wentabove the blonde beauty standing in the batter's box. Because heconsidered the scope of Erica's arm length and the length of the bat, heimplemented his plan to pitch in the places where she was incapable ofreaching."It's fine like this. Since my objective was to only avoid letting you hit theball, I never intended on issuing a fair competition."As expected, baseball related sports are not mainstream in Italy.Not even the knowledgeable Erica had heard of the concept of walking thebatter so Godou explained the intention behind this course of action." So it's like that. This time I'll bear with the loss. Basically it's the sameas what you said before.""Are you referring to the objective of avoiding attaining victory or defeatupfront?"With only this degree of explanation, a tint of understanding graduallyemerged from Erica's pupils.We were easily able to converse. Maybe my relationship with this girl reallywasn't that bad.Godou felt this was unbelievable as he took it another step further andsaid:"The divine tree, the grotesque Grey One and so on, I feel like the goal ofthose guys is to prevent me from fighting. Isn't that why every time I getclose those subordinates would commit suicide?"Ever since the divine tree located at Tokyo Bay crumbled, he hadalways .After taking another look at the reason why those grey guys were thatsuspicious, he had come to a decision. It was to listen to Erica's opinionconcerning this matter since he didn't understand the reason why.If he wanted to find someone knowledgeable to help him, then Kaoruwould suffice. If a magic savvy knight was mentioned, Lilianademonstrated even more flexibility. Compared to Yuri who is the kind ofperson who possessed an abnormal spirit sensing ability, no other divinercould be as good of a conversational partner.However, despite all of this he still wanted to get Erica's opinion.Why would he do that? Kusanagi Godou had already overcome manybattles to the death. However, due to her frequent support in manyinstances during those battles Erica also appeared to have a sense ofimportance.Without any basis for it, this was how he felt."If it's like this then there would only be one reason."Once she heard Godou's opinion, Erica spoke in an imposing manner.That clear cut tone gave Godou an indescribable feeling of reliability."To buy more time. It's hard to believe that their actions would serve forany other constructive purpose.""So I'm right?""Yeah. In short it's the equivalent of protecting a city. The soldiers in thecity surrounded by a large army will desperately try to defend to the death,striving to engage in a defensive battle. By doing this, they are waiting forallies to come rescue them.Godou nodded while saying 'I see' towards the reasoning behind the battletactics Erica described.The reason for buying time was uncertain, but based on her description itwould make sense."Except, if we were to account for non-constructive reasonings ""Are you saying there is a possibility that it isn't a constructive plan?""Yes. For example, since the enemy is closely pursuing them during thedefense of a city, situations where there are a loss of judgment occur quitefrequently. Without reinforcements they would blindly fight to the end.There is also the situation right now with the intriguing actions done bythese guys it could also be possible that it has ties to a religiousceremony.""Uhh"In that case, there existed the possibility of it being irrational as well?Upon hearing Erica's point of view, Godou suddenly felt a flash of insight."Then in that case, what you are focusing on could precisely be thebreakthrough to the nucleus of the problem. Being able to elaborate to thatextent is quite interesting.""That's really flattering of you."Giving an obvious praise would undoubtedly be good, but why does sheneed to be so tactful?However, this was typical of Erica so Godou forced a smile."As a noblewoman, I should at the very least reward a gallant knight.Please be my temporary opponent once again."After she finished speaking, Erica extended her hand towards the areawhere the baseball equipment laid.This time she picked up both the glove and baseball."Let me crush your ego as we decide a legitimate winner this time.""Wait a second. You definitely mentioned giving a reward, how come itfeels like you want to defeat me?""The best reward is to simply enjoy the moment together where you and I,Erica Blandelli, can decide on the outcome of a battle. Also, if you want towin, a man would do it with his own two hands right?"Erica had a fearless smile as she spoke. Sure enough it was her lionesssmile.Fighting till the end? Godou also gave a heartfelt smile. For the moment,backing down was not an option when his dignity as a man was called intoquestion.This time Godou picked up the baseball bat.Afterwards the two of them agreed to the ambiguous rule that if he missedthe ball then Erica wins, if it is hit then Godou wins. This was not so mucha competition, but rather them having fun playing ball.Part 4In the end, the two of them played ball all the way till the sun was about toset.Godou was currently walking along Nezu street where a section of it wasdyed in an orange hue by the sunset. Erica was by his side and the two ofthem walked all the way here together.Godou's reasoning for this was that it unknowingly happened.Once the unresolved competition had concluded and the equipment hadbeen put away, Erica very naturally followed him after he said "well, it'sabout time to go home".Although, if he wanted to refuse walking together with her, there weremany reasons he could have come up with. However, overall he felt a 'thisis pretty good' kind of feeling.Why does Erica want to follow him? Perhaps it unknowingly happened forher as well. Superseding all this was an issue regarding"I feel pretty hungry after that thorough exercise."He spoke of his animal-like desires in this manner. Erica was unfazed as aresult and instead ignored all the ensuing reasons for it."Same here. There's still some time before dinner, let's just find some otherplace to hang out in the meantime.""You're still the same as before, completely ignoring the necessity ofhaving a balanced diet.""Those portions had already become the calories for daily consumption. Ihaven't overlooked the intake and expenditure calculations in regards tothis aspect."The two of them walked in jest to the Nezu Sanchome shopping district.There were still a few minutes before arriving at Godou's house.Just as Godou thought it was about time to say goodbye, Erica suddenlystopped in her tracks."Actually, this has been on my mind for quite a while now. You could saythat I've been restraining myself like someone enduring the passage oftime, but there really is an indescribable flavor permeating the air here."The place Erica was looking at was a Chinese restaurant that Godourecognized.To put it politely, a shabby looking restaurant would be a suitabledescription. Indeed, its style, making the place known as the "town's Chinashop", refers to the shop's structure that had been maintained all the waysince the Showa period. The restaurant was covered in oil stains and dirt.The outer appearance would compel any teenage girl to immediatelydistance herself from this establishment.However, Erica was instead attracted to this decrepit and filthy place. Withthat said, could it be that regardless of the restaurant's style and cookingthat were completely devoid of personality, as long as the disgusting foodstill honored its characteristic flavor it would fit Erica's dietary lifestyle?"So it's that one. Well, if it's Erica then she wouldn't mind" said Godou.After all, he was a native inhabitant so the type of restaurant was very clearto him. There was a provocative advertisement pasted on the glass doorentrance that had the words 'mud wonton, mud dumpling, mud ramen'printed on it."It's a pretty interesting restaurant, I like it a lot. Well, goodbye.""Godou, please hold on for a sec."Just when he was about to take his leave, Erica grabbed his arm."You intend to provoke the expectations of I, Erica Blandelli, solely so youcan head back by yourself first?"Erica spoke in a fearless manner while having dragged Godou to her side."If it turns out that it isn't as interesting as you guaranteed, I will hold youaccountable. So please accompany me a bit longer.""Eh eh! ?"I was undoubtedly close to home, why must I go with her? Godoudisplayed an intention to decline her.However, there was probably no way to overpower the intensity exertedfrom Erica's strong muscles. In the end, he was dragged into therestaurant by her.After that, an hour had passed."I see, it's just a restaurant with freshwater fish cuisine containing a muddyaftertaste."After sampling practically all of the dishes on the table, Erica appeared tospeak with profound admiration.The cuisines consisted of snakehead fish plus wonton made with celery,carp repeatedly fried in oil, a steamed dish with eel and tofu, and there wasa dish they were attentively staring at named 'catfish mud dumplings withsweet vinegar stuffing'."How should I put it? It makes people cast doubts on the original meaningof a cuisine. It seems like they wanted to conceal the muddy odor by usingspices and specially grounded freshwater fish paste mixed together.However, this will never fool me. So that's why they added a filling sosweet that anyone would get tired of it.""As expected, you really like those kinds of dishes that are difficult to eatand the taste of anything crudely made."Godou sighed in sorrow as he spoke to Erica who was analyzing thecuisine's taste with vigor.After glancing over the restaurant's menu and ordering many dishes,Godou immediately gave up on eating at home. He already called Shizukato let her know he was going out to eat.As a result, Godou maneuvered his chopsticks without worry.After taking a bite off the carp fried in oil, he felt the texture of the crunchyand flaky skin to be very well done.It was not just some crudely made food, this place actually specialized infreshwater fish cuisine."The father of the restaurant's owner seemed to have gone to China in thepast in order to go to school. As a result, he became fascinated with a dishmade out of a fish caught in some sort of Yangzte River tributary. He hadpreviously said that he generally studied authentic Cantonese cuisine.Although, this restaurant's flavor isn't true Cantonese style."This restaurant however was a place where the owner often carried out hisown culinary creations.Especially items such as the catfish dumplings, it is doubtful whether or notit even exists in China. This was why Godou had initially refused to enterthe establishment. Erica then cheerfully said:"Since it's like this, let's also call Lu Yinghua at some later point in time andlet him have a taste. That kid was raised in Hong Kong the cuisinethere originated from Cantonese cuisine. The Lu household in Hong Kongshould also have a Cantonese restaurant in business.""Eh? Yinghua?"Hearing this familiar sounding name gave Godou a jolt.However, why is it that up until now I had forgotten this name? Lu Yinghua.A name with Ying, a friend of the same age ? Where would I haveencountered this guy?And right now there was this equally important matter.Within his name was actually the word 'Ying'. On the confusing warningemail, the name Ying also appeared in the email sender's name .Could this be considered purely coincidental?"Where is that guy and what's he doing right now ?""Ara, now that you mention it where did he go ?"When this seemingly familiar person of importance was mentioned, Erica,who was much more adept at gathering intelligence compared to any otherperson and was frequently capable of grasping other people's movements,felt perplexed.Due to her uncharacteristic reaction, Godou couldn't help but put pause hischopstick movements for a bit and began to ponder."If you don't mind, would you like to come to my house for a bit? You arewelcomed to have some tea."Godou asked as soon as they exited the Chinese restaurant. Why does hefeel a bit reluctant to part ways with Erica?Also, doesn't she feel the same as well? It was very intuitive to believe thiswas the case."I suppose so. I don't want to be like some sort of vulgar person whooverstays Even though I really want to say something along those lines,perhaps it will be fine this time."The foul-mouthed Erica avoided saying it straightforwardly like she wouldusually do. Plus, it was obvious there was an unfathomable changehappening within her, something made her feel indecisive."However, I can't go. There's a place I need to pay a visit. This matter isprobably more important than your invitation."After only saying a few words, Erica quickly took off.Godou sighed. Even though he felt they got along during those past fewhours, maybe his belief was wrong? Well, there is nothing he can do aboutit. Furthermore, Godou had some matters to carefully reflect on.There was the name Erica previously said, Lu Yinghua, as well as theemail notifying him that there will be something revived during the wintersolstice. The sender was Lu Yinghua.The so-called Ying was probably Lu Yinghua. In addition, what exactly isthe resurrection that was mentioned ?"Onii-chan! What is up with you going on a dinner date with that blondehaired study abroad student living near our house!? There's no usepretending to be stupid because I was notified by a number of people whosaw you two at that restaurant!"As he returned home and began thinking through things, Shizuka suddenlystarted interrogating him.Godou ignored her and returned to his own room on the second floor.Where could he meet Lu Yinghua? After checking his cellphone for anaddress, he realized that the number was registered on his phone.He immediately called him, however he was unable to reach him.Godou felt very anxious. Up until now he had been feeling a very intensesensation of being trapped. The feeling was akin to being enclosed in amaze.However, the structure of this maze seemed to be pretty simple. Even if hewas trapped, couldn't he just pulverize the walls of the maze? If only therewas something to give him a push, he would clearly be able to do so!While he was feeling extremely anxious, the cellphone displayed anincoming call.The display screen showed Seishuuin Ena as the incoming caller. Herecalled that she was the Hime-Miko of the Sword, Yuri's friend, and shewas someone whom he had seen many times before.Nevertheless, their relationship is not at the point where they couldexchange personal contact info right?His memory was really vague so he was unable to think very much indetail. In any case, he might as well press the talk button first to receive thecall."Ah, Your Majesty? It's been so long since we last saw each other! Rightnow Ena is at Mount Mitsumine. Has the party's location been determinedyet?"The voice coming from across the phone had a blunt, cheerful, andoptimistic feel to it.Godou was at a complete loss towards her candidness and questioned herin response."What do you mean by party ?""You know, the Christmas one. Ena would always go to the mountainsduring these times so this kind of thing would actually a first for me.Everyone will be eating an entire bird right?""Christmas party ?"It was his first time hearing about this activity. No, was this really the case?Didn't everyone go over this before?Even though it's a bit bold, I might as well take responsibility for thetask of hosting it.Well, incidentally holding a gathering within the house sounds prettynice.However, is a miko normally allowed to celebrate Christmas?1 guess the level of strictness isn't to that extent. Furthermore .Every year around this time Kaoru-san would become very ferocious.Starting from around the 20th, every day she would be going out with thegirls. With a person as difficult to deal with as her, even the nagging fromher senior would prove to be useless.'This year we will do it precisely as Your Majesty suggested. I will be donewith these religious practices before Christmas. For the time being Ena willbe staying here. Everyone wanted to go watch the New Year's sunrisetogether. Would it be ok if we viewed it from Mt. Fuji?'The vivid conversation and memory transferred through the phone wasenshrouded."My suggestion "'Of course, did you forget? Ah, well then, how's it going over there? YourMajesty and cult leader-sama had just met. If you are still alive right now,does that mean everything went alright?'M iiShe kept on saying things that he could not recall, puzzling Godou.As a result, on the other side of the phone, Ena whispered 'Your Majesty isbehaving really strange today'.'Uh, what? Eh so it's like that. It turned out like this huh.'She suddenly started saying some strange things."What are you mumbling about, what's the matter?"'Just then, the Ama no Murakumo updated Ena on the most recentsituation. It seems quite chaotic, but there is no need to worry. If YourMajesty wishes to battle, call out the Ama no Murakumo. An action of thatdegree should be able to easily break the curse.'"Did you say curse! ?"'Yeah, uh my batteries are running out. Ena will immediately head toTokyo. As expected I must accompany Your Majesty in order to avoidboredom!'After leaving some brief words, the line was suddenly disconnected.With that said, it was rather troublesome that Ena's cellphone wouldalways lag due to insufficient battery power. Furthermore, she was able touse the cellphone as a medium to communicate with a guardian god.An example would be with Susanoo. This time it was basicallycommunicating with the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi lodged withinGodou's right arm!" Oh yeah! Me and Seishuuin are both utilizing this guy aren't we!?"Godou finally recalled bond he had to the Miko of the Sword.In addition, he even comprehended the meaning behind Ena's words. TheAma no Murakumo no Tsurugi was a divine sword under the possession ofGodou. For the most part he avoided using it as a blade, instead he usedthis sword's treasure trove of useful functions.One of which was the ability to break apart magic. Although, its abilitiesappear to have no effect when used against gods and Campiones.Nevertheless, against these comparatively weak forms of wizardry it waseasily able to absorb the effect, rendering it useless.Godou directed his attention towards his right arm. The words 'awaken!',which were directed to the hibernating sword, resounded within him.Being among those with the blood of [Steel], he lacked interest in anythingother than combat matters. That was why other than in critical moments,the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi would hibernate.Ena appeared to be capable of engaging a sword of this disposition incasual conversation while Godou was incapable of doing so.Are you calling for me, King?Upon hearing that haughty reply, Godou immediately issued out an order."If you notice anything out of the ordinary, be sure to promptly give awarning!"'Didn't we go over this before? My demeanor is that of a faithful sword god.There would be no harm in showing off a bit if you wanted to engage inbattle.'"If it's a battle you want then be quiet and mind your own business."Godou was conversing with the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi lodgedwithin his arm while hurrying towards Nezu station.Fortunately it was already the dead of night. After 2 A.M. the number ofpedestrians present around Nezu were scarce in number so he didn't haveto bear the befuddled expressions of others."Hey, in order to disturb the area around me, he used a curse which hadmessed up our memories. Can other people break free from the curse aswell?"Just then, I was referring to the removal of the curse that altered my usualbehavior.The results were quite significant, right now Godou had already returned tohis normal self.Kusanagi Godou was the Campione residing in Tokyo. His partnersincluded Erica Blandelli, Mariya Yuri, Liliana Kranjcar, and SeishuuinEna .However, the only one with him today was the person of steel locatedwithin his right arm.'You could just have me out in front but there is no point in doing so.'"Why?"This curse is from the heretic god of bountiful harvests no, I bet he isstill plotting to have his newly born priest do something. Under allcircumstances when the one serving as a priest is present, even when thecurse is broken a new one will be reapplied. Unless you sever the root ofits cause there is no point in doing anything else.'"Basically you're saying my entire surroundings are being enveloped by thecurse."'Of course. A priest's power is to guide the people. Engulfing one or twometropolises with this power that manipulates the minds of the massesshouldn't be a surprise right?'Rather than calling this mental manipulation, it would be better to say thiswas the power to manipulate the masses.Godou recalled Verethragna's Goat incarnation, a priest's power tominister the hearts of the masses. This kind of psychic sensing previouslyenveloped Tokyo's Hibiya district as well as the Nikkou district.With that said, the psychic sensing utilized by Yuri was also capable ofbeing spread across a pretty large-scale area."In other words, the scope of this type of power is quite vast "To think we actually possess these types of troublesome powers.Godou included himself within the concerning group of people who hadsuperpowers beyond belief."Well, since it's like this, having the range subjected to just being withinTokyo is actually quite good."So that was why Ena, who resided in the Chichibu mountains, was able toevade being affected.The curse this time was targeted towards Kusanagi Godou. This was sothe relationship of the Campione Kusanagi Godou and his partners woulddrift apart, rendering them incapable of operating effectively. The objectiveof those guys who brought about this matter was precisely as Erica hadpredicted, they wanted to buy time.For the sake of reviving the heretic god Saturnus!"Overall we made a breakthrough. Now to figure out how to retaliate "'Hahaha very well, King. You can use this momentum to raise your fightingspirit and battle recklessly.'"l-ldiot! If the enemy were to avoid battling and retreat that would be thebest case scenario right? Don't always talk about these outrageousmatters!"Having his desire to battle apprehended, Godou tried to cover up the truthin a panic.Godou rushed onto a tram towards Shinjuku. He had to meet up with LuYinghua as soon as possible It was imperative to first contact thenephew of the mischievous sworn elder sister who had imposed a certainmission on him.Through the JR subway interchange route, he had arrived at Shinjukustation.Rushing past the vast station area, he headed towards the streets duringthe evening. His destination was Kabukicho, a sort of high class downtownarea that most high school students should steer clear from.Lu Yinghua was a young cadre leader representing the Lu householdlocated in Hong Kong .They have a maid related business establishment operating at Akihabara.However, that is merely something experimental. It seemingly was meantto try and establish a stronghold presence within the redevelopingElectronic Street.They were one of the so-called Chinese gangs. This group had astronghold located in Hong Kong.In Japan, it should be said that their original sphere of influence was inShinjuku and Ikebukuro. Godou wanted to visit the place previously knownnot too long ago as the Shinjuku business that sold beds of Japanesevariety.By virtue of memory, Godou navigated through the Kabukicho crowd.His destination was a certain rundown multi-tenant building. Headinginside, Chinese restaurants, massage centers, mahjong parlors, andacupuncture clinics etc. could be seen as he walked towards the flight ofstairs within the building to get to the uppermost floor.The moment he entered the reputation lacking and brandless business,Godou said:"Pardon my intrusion, I wish to speak to the young master would it beok to address him as such? I would like to speak with Lu Yinghua, can youhelp me reach him? Perhaps you guys already know, I'm KusanagiGodou."Within the firm's spatial arrangements were some cheap chairs and tablesfor the business.At first glance, this seemed to be the office of some small or mediumenterprise. However, the people on duty here seemed to be bald men whowere two meters in height and have tattoos pierced on their foreheads.These casanovas wearing their gaudy suits clearly did not look like honestpeople.Furthermore, no matter how you look at them, there were people wholooked like short guys with thin, white beards, holding divine inscriptions.They appeared to be nonreligious people engaging in soothsaying. Therewere also effeminate men who were currently doing their makeup after justopening up their makeup products.In a certain sense, it could be said that it was a group where villains andheroes were mixed together like the Outlaws of the Water Margin^ \They were all important members from the Japanese division within the Luhousehold one would think. Requesting them to give it their all wasGodou's first step for retaliation.References1 . tin Roman Mythology, Saturn is the "God of Time". Saturn isCronus from Greek Mythology, who escaped the wrath of Zeus. Thenwithin Greek mythology is Chronos who is the Greek God of Time.Long story short, Cronus=Saturn2. t Freyr is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Hewas a god of the sun and rain, and the patron of bountiful harvests.3. t Dagda is an important god of Irish mythology. His attributes are acauldron with an inexhaustible supply of food, a magical harp withwhich he summons the seasons, and an enormous club, with one endof which he could kill nine men, but with the other restore them to life.He also possessed two marvelous swine — one always roasting, theother always growing — and ever-laden fruit trees.4. t The Water Margin, a story set in the Song Dynasty, tells of how agroup of 108 outlaws gathered at Mount Liang to form a sizable armybefore they are eventually granted amnesty by the government andsent on campaigns to resist foreign invaders and suppress rebelforces.

Chapter 4 - Name of the God Heralding Midwinter?Part 1Subsequently about ten minutes after contacting Yuri, Godou got in touchwith a certain someone.In fact, he notified her by saying 'Santa Clauses are being greyified onceagain!'. He also wanted to utilize that familiar she used in the past tosearch for the culprit.However, he relinquished that idea after sensing there was some kind ofindescribable danger.Viewing it from the perspective of a baseball team, expectations woulddictate Kusanagi Godou to be either the fourth hitter or catcher. Thesewere the positions he was accustomed to ever since he was a child.On offense, the pinch hitter was allowed to distance hit. On defense, thepitcher and outfielders would be instructed to set up a containment. Therewere no inconspicuous movements on his side.However, the fourth hitter for some reason decided to bunt the ball.The catcher, who was supposed to be like a calm and unwavering centralcontrol tower, wanted to play in the outfield.This type of vulgarness was comparable to the current situation.Overextending oneself. The furthest thing from playing to one's talents.Didn't Amakasu mention earlier? "This is something that can be cleared upas soon as we sent out Committee members to investigate." Godou had nowish to trouble others even though the problem would be resolved withouthim doing anything personally.Why did they have to operate in this fashion? They were still far fromhaving the right person in the right place.He felt profoundly dissatisfied .This was why Godou was determined to get in touch with that person.During times like these, he no, she should be someone he could relyon.Presently on the 20th of December, two hours had passed.Godou had avoided the gaze of Shizuka and snuck out of the house.He boarded Amakasu Touma's car on Kototoi Street and headed offtowards Area 3 of the Chiyoda ward. The setup of this ghost house-likewestern-style mansion gave the impression that they wanted to silentlyconceal themselves along this alleyway.This place was where the person in charge of the Tokyo division of theHistory Compilation Committee resided.To say that she was a beautiful girl would be too neutral and her voice wastoo thin to be considered a beautiful boy. Incidentally, this woman was veryadept at fooling around and among strategists, she was quite problematicto deal with"Thank you for being able to come my King. Today I, Sayanomiya Kaoru, aperson of humble talent, intend to use everything in my power to assistKusanagi Godou."The person who greeted them at the front door was Kaoru who waswearing a formal black butler's outfit.She chose to speak in an incomparably exaggerated form, but the way sheconveyed it was very natural.Her bout of courtesy was humorous but also very elegant. Chuckling,Kaoru seemed to be completely at ease when she gave her witty greeting."I feel there is absolutely no need for this kind of flattery Why are youdressed up?""Since Kusanagi-sama wanted to personally come for a visit, I wanted totry and spruce up a bit for the occasion. Let's put this matter aside for now,please enter. Yuri and Liliana-san have already arrived."Wearing a perfectly overdone men's outfit, this girl emitted a frivolousexpression towards Godou.After being invited inside her residence, two of his old acquaintancesreappeared in the lounge."Godou-san, we were waiting for your arrival.""We heard that the phenomenon happened again."Seeing that this more or less turned into a formal mission for theCommittee members, Yuri wore her entire miko attire while Liliana wasdressed in a blue vest with black pants.Godou and the others entered the spacious study together.This area was actually Kaoru's office. It had also become the meetingroom to assess countermeasures against heretic gods many times in thepast. Godou proceeded to sit down on the couch. Afterwards, Liliana alsosat down to his right.She was completely oblivious, sitting down as if it was her establishedspot.Their line of sight crossed paths. Liliana flashed an eye signal and Godouresponded by nodding his head. It was finally time to thoroughlyinvestigate the facts. The commencement of a critical juncture hasinitiated."? What's the matter Mariya?"Godou inadvertently glanced at Yuri only to see she for some reason helda very staunch expression while gazing at him and Liliana.After questioning her, the hime-miko suddenly became flustered and satdown towards Godou's left."N-Nothing's wrong. Speaking of which Godou-san, I'm not sure when itbegan but the relationship between you and Liliana-san has become muchmore intimate ""Intimate uh, well, compared to our relationship from before it hasimproved slightly. Right Liliana?""Y-Yes I agree. Returning to that topic Kusanagi Godou, since when didyour relationship with Mariya became much friendlier compared to before?As expected, this is probably the reason why there were rumors aboutyou.""Eh?" Godou was puzzled after hearing Liliana satirizing him."Yes, that must be it. Despite having additional vacant spots, Mariya Yurisat by your side without the slightest hesitation. This is something I neverwould have imagined until this day."" ! ? T-This meeting is only to discuss matters regarding thephenomenon in detail with Godou-san."While replying, Yuri completely lost her composure due to fear from thissudden criticism."Also, it was Liliana-san who started this.""1-1 had the position of assisting Kusanagi Godou for this situation. Beinghis consultant, I'm only sitting at my natural post. And furthermore, eventhe way you address him has changed "The latter part of Liliana's words became a whining murmur that wasdifficult to hear discernibly.No matter how one looks at it, he was caught between the two girls. Theatmosphere became a tad awkward.During this time, Godou coincidentally remembered something. Being ableto strengthen his relationship with others was favorable. However, perhapstheir relationship was a bit more unrestrained in the past ?"Hey. I see, so that was it."On the other side, the calmly awaiting Kaoru who dressed up like a butlerseemed to laugh out of amusement and nodded her head.They appeared to be waiting and watching each other's responses. Justexactly what did she realize? Godou thought it was strange but alsoexpressed gratitude towards Kaoru. All of the responsibilities for thearrangement at this location fell onto her.In this chaotic situation, there was Yuri's spirit vision and the mysterioustrump card Erica held. These matters should be quickly sorted out. Out ofeveryone gathered here, the most suitable candidate to accomplish thiswas none other than Kaoru.Therefore, he used his cellphone to contact Kaoru. Within an hour hereceived a return call from her. At that time Kaoru straightforwardly told him"the location arrangements for the emergency meeting has been set,please head over at this time. Erica-san will be there as well."Her ability and skill to get the job done were still as good as ever. IfSayanomiya Kaoru was born in the right time period, she would have themoral character of a 'feudal leader' or a 'bishop'. Who made such a remarkbefore?"Looks like I made everyone wait."Moreover, this girl seemed to take the role of a person who enters thestage last. Her attire consisted of a red overcoat along with tight blackpants, paying tribute by pairing up 'red and black' as usual."After being contacted by Kaoru, I told Arianna to find the appropriate item.She went through the entire house, spending thirty minutes to find this. Mymaid, who also acts as my assistant, is really quite capable isn't she?"Upon entering the study, she spoke with a tone of brightness. She didn'teven do anything but it was like a shameless admission nevertheless. Sherevealed a broad smile, as expected of Erica Blandelli's temperament.Erica suddenly revealed her findings which was a plain wooden chest.The size of the cover attached to the top could fit into a person's hand. Itwas black in color and looked quite decrepit.A click sound was made as Erica opened the lid. The contents inside weremerely two, three dried up pieces of fruit that were about the same size asa ping pong ball.It resembled nothing other than some sort of dried up fruit."Out of the magic related items I brought to Japan, this was one that Ioriginally did not have on me at the time. It was not one of the items thatcame from Milan either. However, why would something like this be mixedin with the other stuff in my apartment? It is quite a peculiar predicament."Erica was smiling while looking around inside the wooden chest. She hada brazen smile that was without fear, like a malevolent lion skulking aroundto get in front of its prey."If you trust the note attached to the top of the chest, this box appears tobe from the past probably more than one hundred years ago. It was anobject brought to earth by a heretic god appearing in Turkey. Recentlythere seems to have been various kinds of strange events occurring. In noway can the name of this god be just a coincidental match to what hasoccurred during these phenomenons."" Quit posturing. Hurry up and say the name of the god already."Liliana interrupted her."What's so awful about a climax of this degree, Lily? I will never flounderthe chance to be on center stage. This stunt is something everyone shouldknow about me, Erica Blandelli."After leisurely speaking, Erica suddenly announced:"The name of the god is Saturnus. He was believed to be the god ofagriculture in the Ancient Roman Empire. He is an existence who gave thepopulace crops and produce. Furthermore, he brought along the divinefestival that Christmas originated from."Liliana gently nodded. It looks like she recognized the name.Saturnus, it should be the first time he heard that name right? Godou feltslightly ill at ease.However, right now he had to ask about the doubts encountered frombefore."The origins of Christmas?""During the end of the year in Ancient Rome, they would conduct a grandfestival for Saturnus every December. They dance, sing, drink wine, makea racket, and heartily cheer with merriment."Erica spoke with her usual clear-cut tone."The title of the god of agriculture originated from the appreciation of thecurrent year's harvest and the festival where prayers were held for abountiful harvest the following year. During this festival, there appears tohave been some sort of social custom where people present tree branchesand fruits as gifts to each other. After this social custom was popularized inChristianity, remnants of it remained in various parts of Europe andeventually transformed into a social custom where 'gifts were to beexchanged during the festival hosted at the end of the year'.""A couple of days ago I mentioned that Saint Nicolas was a Saint whobrought the fruits of harvest. Saturnus was also a god of agriculture but hedates back much farther in time compared to the Saint of Christianity."Liliana added on to that as if she was supplementing the explanation."By around the 11 th century, Christianity had extended throughout Europe.During a time much prior to that, Europeans worshiped Cronus^, Freyr 2 ^,Dagda^ and other indigenous gods of agriculture. Nevertheless, followingthe popularization of Christianity, these ancient gods were replaced bySaint Nicolas. The birth of Jesus Christ served as a form of replacementfor the social custom of the great winter festival."Using our modern calendar, the harvest festival is held around December.This wasn't a rare occurrence for those who engaged within the the realmsof agriculture. This festival was even held in ancient Egypt.""Erica-san may I take a look at that thing?"Yuri shyly asked Erica who was recounting unexpected information. Hergaze was cast towards the contents from inside the chest that the blondebeauty held in her hands."Of course, you didn't have to ask. Perhaps if we rely on Yuri's power wecan see something that evades us."Yuri walked towards Erica after leaving the couch.She extended her hand to borrow the wooden chest of hers. Her paleindex finger and middle finger reached into the wooden chest, tremblingwith fear as she touched the dried fruits dating over 100 years old.Following that, Yuri's facial expression suddenly became very stiff. Itseemed like she had a pretty clear impression from her spirit vision.However, instead of being jubilant, Godou actually felt worried becauseYuri's expression became excessively rigid."Does this mean it was an ominous proclamation?"Yuri then anxiously replied to the worried Liliana."Y-Yes. I'm afraid that the massive power force I saw in connection to thisfruit was located somewhere in Tokyo Bay. Furthermore, this force existsin close proximity to the city area."Part 2After Yuri described the scene she saw from her spirit vision, Kaoru winkeddiscreetly.The person who received this wink was none other than her trusty aide,Amakasu.Even if his working attitude was extremely lackluster, it would still beunthinkable for anyone to doubt the special personnel's abilities. He tookout a cellphone from his wrinkled suit and began negotiating withsomeone. Shortly after, the conversation ended.After thirty minutes had passed, Kusanagi Godou was sitting in isolationaboard a speedboat along Tokyo Bay.Who knows what sort of connections he had tapped into. The role of theOfficial History Compilation Committee was to arrange a patrol boat fromthe Japanese Coast Guard for Kusanagi Godou to ride on."The ocean is still freezing at night ""Indeed "Yuri chimed in during Godou's muttering.Under these circumstances, it was inevitable that his body would beexposed to the piercing ocean breeze on the deck of the boat. The howlingwind mercilessly snatched his body temperature. Furthermore it was stillevening, which meant even the benefit of the sun was gone in this darkperiod of time. This further sped up the decrease of temperature."Mariya, don't you feel cold wearing that ? Oh yeah, there is a sparecoat on the ship, you should probably borrow it. Just placing it over yourbody will be fine."Yuri was wearing her usual attire which consisted of white robe plus ahakama.Wearing something as thin as this on dry land would still be chilly, but inthis case they were on a boat. In fact, Yuri's glamorous eyebrows whichwere exposed to the ocean gust had already turned pale."No thanks. The clothing I wear can't be too thick, otherwise the sensingwill become slower. Even like this, there is no need to worry about me."Because of the freezing ocean winds during the night, a person's bodywould definitely feel chilled to the bone.Even under these conditions, Yuri did not withdraw due to the cold nor didshe blow warm air onto her hands to warm herself. Rather, she firmlystraightened her body and sternly stood there."Was the sensing you mentioned before referring to your spirit vision?""It does include that as well as the psychic sensing. Right now the sensingpower is being extended in all directions to probe for the god's aura.Because there needs to be a slight adjustment in its strength, the coldtemperature actually makes it easier to accomplish."Right now the only people on the deck of the patrol boat were Godou andYuri. The hime-miko utilized an uncommon ability of hers. She wascurrently looking for the location that matched the scene from her recentspirit vision."Ah so when it's cold it's somewhat easier to concentrate spiritually."Godou utilized a sports mentality and nodded.Morning exercises and martial arts activities during the winter time wouldlead to a rush of adrenaline and an elevated mental concentration.Perhaps those that loathe exercising were incapable of understanding theappeal of this."Actually, within the religious practices of the hime-miko, one must bearthrough winter's intense beatings.""Very impressive. It has a miko-sama feeling to it.""Yes, and with the other hime-mikos who were engaging in these religiouspractice, we learned on the spot together. Everyone showed restraint inspite of the adversity.""Showing restraint in adversity?""In short, something cold can still get colder."The hime-miko rarely joked like this. Godou wryly smiled and Yuri alsorevealed a smile that resembled a sakura wafting through the air. Normallythis playful smile was never seen so it felt very refreshing."Then are you forcefully bracing yourself right now?""Honestly speaking, I am. My fingertips are so cold that they are practicallynumb."Yuri's smile felt like it was done in distress as she raised her white fingers.Even as she did this, her finger remained firm. Her gentle expression andmanners were both peaceful as usual. The ability of this hime-miko toshow restraint under these conditions had already been practiced to thepoint of perfection.Although she said she didn't feel anything, Godou was still concerned forher."Really ? Ha ha, looks like it. At least it would do you some good towarm up a little."Godou muttered and unconsciously grabbed Yuri's hand.It was as cold as ice. Only after he confirmed that her hand was colderthan ice did Godou notice it. What am I doing? His and Yuri's line of sightconnected.Until just now, the hime-miko was always trying her best to show restraintunder these rough conditions.Her beautiful and composed facial expression in an instant turnedcompletely red as she lowered her head.The reason was certainly because Godou was holding her luxurioushand ."I-I'm sorry! I totally didn't mean to act so recklessly!"Godou immediately apologized. It was very unfathomable. He naturallyextended his hand as if he felt he already held hands with Yuri many timesbefore. This explains why he unconsciously stuck out his own handcasually for confirmation .Right now there should a scene where she would for sure say "what areyou doing!?" in rage.Anticipating the hime-miko to be rightfully angry, Godou was mentallyprepared to willingly withstand her vehemence.However, Yuri instead lowered her head in embarrassment and mumbled:"l-l understand. My fingers have already warmed up a bit."Speaking of which, Godou was still holding Yuri's hand.To one's surprise, he had carelessly forgotten about releasing her hand.But thanks to this, the temperature from Godou's hand was able to betransferred to Yuri's hand, which slightly added some heat.Surely enough, the tips of the hand, foot and such were much moresusceptible to the cold for women compared to men.Godou, who had yet to release her ice cold hands, felt embarrassed andunwittingly said:"l-lt should be fine after warming up for a bit longer right ?""Y-Yes, you're right. If it is too excessive then the sensing will becomeslower. Just for a bit longer really one minute, no, even if it's just thirtyseconds then "In response to Yuri's reply, Godou rubbed her hand.Thirty seconds, no, a minute had quickly passed. However, he still wantedto warm her up a little and slowly continued rubbing.Afterwards, Yuri and Godou's line of sight matched up. The two of theminstantly lowered their gaze.Yuri still hasn't said 'that should be good enough' to signal him to stop. Asa result, Godou never had the time to say 'it should be about time toseparate our hands'."Something like this won't affect your probing right?"A calm voice interrupted them. Godou and Yuri released each other's handin panic and looked in the direction where the voice came from.As it turns out, Liliana was currently walking in their direction with Ericaright behind her."I brewed some coffee even though we were in a rush. I thought thatMariya Yuri would feel very cold in her mission to oversee the monitoringso I felt very bad about this."O-Oh, I see! But it's nothing serious. Being slightly cold will allow thesensing to become very sharp!"Yuri involuntarily used a brisk manner of speaking in reply to Liliana whowas holding the thermos."Compared to this thermos, your body temperature seems to haveincreased greatly it's the same for Kusanagi Godou."Liliana commented using a ridiculing tone while staring at the blushingred-eared Yuri and Godou.Both of them had no way to retort what she said. They could only lowertheir heads and look down enduring the embarrassment."Well, isn't this the perfect time to take a break? Yuri, please take a break.Letting someone with irreplaceable talent such as you have a rest is alsoincluded within my duties."Erica seemed to find this amusing as she interrupted them.Furthermore, she gracefully chuckled while saying to her old friend andcompetitor:"Even though I clearly understand Lily's resentment, you shouldn't be toohard on Yuri. Delving into a woman's jealous state of mind doesn't suit youat all.""J-Jealousy!?"Erica's statement left Liliana staring tongue tied."Yes. Actually, I recently heard an uncanny rumor regarding you. Yet youthink it's some crazy fabricated statement. However, after you see it foryourself you will understand that this rumor lived up to its word.""W-What kind of rumor did you hear Erica?"Godou inquired because he felt a troubling premonition.Hence, the girl who had the alias of Diavolo Rosso raised her head ofgolden hair which gave an impression of royalty and her pupils flashed witha rebellious and judgmental intent towards the devil king."Of course I'm referring to the love triangle you three have!""What! ?" "Eh! ?" "Love triangle! ?"Godou, Yuri, and Liliana were all speechless. Moreover, Erica was gettingmore and more enthusiastic as she spoke."Due to the inadequate relationship Kusanagi Godou and Liliana Kranjcarhave, it appeared the two of them were recently going between eachother's houses frequently In addition, news of Kusanagi Godou'salternative lover was uncovered by Mariya Yuri. He even kneeled down forforgiveness.""l-ls it like this Kusanagi Godou! ?""So the rumors were true! ? Ugh, to think that I had been astutely deceivedby you before !"Most of what Erica said was true, however she snuck in subtle facts thatwould lead to misunderstandings.Yuri shivered at this revelation and gazed at Godou in shock.As for Liliana, he was faced with a chiding look from her."With only the evidence from the situation, it seems that the referees' viewsof you are quite unfavorable. However, there is something else I shouldadd. It's easy to believe that no matter what the circumstances were,Kusanagi Godou would never have this sort of ambition. Because Yuri andLiliana are both intelligent girls, you two mustn't be fooled by men like him."Erica was nonchalantly judging Godou as she spoke."However I'm still very naive. Yuri and Liliana's complexion completelyturned into that of a woman. Looks like you used some brilliant method todeceive the two of them, right Kusanagi Godou?""This is a misunderstanding! I haven't done anything to victimize them! Youtwo agree right?""Y-Yes. At the very least I haven't had this happen to me!""Exactly. At the very minimum he didn't do anything that resembled adeceitful and spurious relationship to me!"The dialogue of the two girls appeared to have some subtle implications inresponse to Godou's question.Plus, Yuri's gaze still flickered between Godou and Liliana while Lilianautilized an investigative look at Godou and Yuri. Both of them carried adepressed expression on their face.Godou admitted defeat. He never thought it would turn out like this.Nevertheless, Erica's arrival without a doubt strengthens the unity betweenthe girls.Surely enough, when this girl arrived on stage the entirety of the situationwill be altered. Regardless if it was for better or worse, she always becamesomeone that people revolved around. Imposing her creative thinkingwithin a team, she would become the focal point.While he was clarifying this point, Godou and the others each drank a cupof coffee to warm up their body.After that, in order to once again raise her concentration, Yuri distancedherself from Godou and the others to be alone. She then closed her eyes.Expanding her psychic sensing, she was probably probing the sea withinclose proximity."How is Amakasu-san doing in chasing that spirit?""Well, he is only pursuing the prankster who covered Santa Clauses ingrey. I don't think anything out of the ordinary will happen "The red and blue knights were conversing while eyeing Yuri who wascurrently concentrating on her psychic sensing.Before setting out, Liliana had used the familiar from before to probe theearth's aura.Even though the matter with the most priority was the gate to Yuri's spiritvision, that other aspect could not be ignored either. Hence, Amakasuheaded towards that location.On the other side, Godou actually savored some sort of strange feelingand felt uneasy.If it was during combat, his concentration would be raised to a high degreeat will, transforming into his most optimal state. If a heretic god was nearbythen a sense of elation along with a violent surge of power for battle wouldoccur within his body and mind.This was the body of a godslaying Campione.Right now those feelings were totally nonexistent. Their destination was ofcourse very treacherous.Just when Godou was pondering over this dilemma, Yuri finally opened hereyes and returned.There was actually nothing necessary to add regarding the struggle thatwill happen afterwards. Because an intense battle did not come to fruition,this subject was simply dropped.Yuri's psychic sensing detected something on the waters of the Kasaiseacoast.It was a large emblem made out of stone. A stone sculpture that seemed tobe carved out of a material like marble. The shape of a bird spreadingopen its wings was visible.What was bizarre about the sight was for a bird emblem to actually emergefrom the surface of the sea.Moreover, it seemed like it was rooted there. Even though it was exposedto the intense ocean waves it remained motionless. It was solidlyentrenched to the earth and fastened.Liliana, who was looking at the emblem residing on the ocean surface fromthe edge of the patrol boat, displayed an incomprehensible expression.Her hand was holding onto the familiar a doll that had the shape of apig-"What's wrong?""This child couldn't sense the aura of the earth. Even though the powerfrom the fruits of the trees was connected to Saturnus, I still think that itmust be related to the omens of earth's bountiful harvests "Considering the various circumstances to this situation, thinking in this waywas only natural.Godou could not help but look at Yuri. With her more efficacious spiritvision powers compared to Liliana, she should be capable of discoveringsomething. Godou figured it would be like this. Consequently, thehime-miko had an apologetic expression and said:"I'm very sorry. Even I can't see what kind of power is hidden. All I see issome sort of grey mist surrounding that emblem.""Did you say mist?""Yes. To put it simply, it appears someone is hiding its true form."After Yuri quietly finished speaking, she once again gazed towards thatemblem."Right now that emblem is emitting a power that corresponds to a god ofearth. Just then sprouts were germinating. Godou-san, if we get any closerwe might provoke it.""Is this the divinity of the land that was born from the unidentifiedomens ?""It looks like using ordinary methods will not work on this opponent!"Liliana muttered while Erica on the other hand blatantly cut her off.The knights' lines of sight were also fixated on the emblem on the surfaceof the ocean. Meanwhile, Godou also noticed the enormous amount ofmagical power being emitted in front of him.As expected, this was the rejection between godslayers and godlypossessions.The nerves will always tense up when there is a burst of increasing divineenergy.A parasitic plant with a trunk, branches and dense flourishing foliageresembling that of an evergreen tree, was growing vigorously nonstop!At first it was a small shrub. Then it turned into an enormous tree rightbefore their eyes. The tree even appeared to be hundreds of years in age.Finally, within a very brief period, a parasitic-like tree emerged at thecenter of Tokyo Bay. The height had to be above thirty meters. The tree'sconstitution was also proportional in magnificence to its height.In terms of age, it certainly had the immense structure of a tree that wasover one-thousand years old.His Campione instincts told him that it was not a heretic god. However, herealized this existence was related to heretic gods since there wasdefinitely divine power lodged within the tree."Since this lesser god, a divine beast, had an organic form, this thing isprobably a divine plant or a divine tree."Erica spoke admirably.On the other side, the divine plant that suddenly sprouted rustled as itsbranches swayed. It began to emit a solemn incantation from its entirebody.It was simply in a frenzy, on the verge of confrontation."What a bastard, this tree actually wants to fight me!"The vindictive aura and desire to battle emitted by the divine tree wasdefinitely towards him, hence it came after Godou.Using his Campione battling intuition, he personally felt this was the case.Even though it had the form of a tree, it was still an existence related togods. It appeared to show hostility towards the godslayer, butJust a moment ago, Erica compared it to a divine beast. In short, itsstrength should be quite unsubstantial.If it were to face a Campione, it would clearly be considered a weakopponent ."Godou-san!" "Kusanagi Godou, over there!"At this moment, the hime-miko and witch coincidentally warned him at thesame time.Did they acquire a spirit vision? They were pointing above a certain thicktree branch on the divine tree in front of them. Quietly standing straight atthat place was the Grey One !It had the same form as the one from a couple days ago with the sailclothcovering its entire body.During the follow-up at that time they found out that a few minutes prior,Amakasu was within Tokyo near the Aoyama district and had encounteredthe Grey One and pursued it. However, right at that moment was when theGrey One appeared in front of Godou as well. His pursued target hadsuddenly disappeared."Did this guy get resurrected over this period of time? Or did anothersimilar guy appear? Which one is it "Godou grumbled while investigating what its true identity was.The Grey One was walking on top of the branch while touching the divinetree's trunk. Following that, its sailcloth covered hand sank into the tree'sepidermis!Soon after its hand was buried inside. Even the elbow and shoulder wereeventually engulfed.In the end its remaining head, body, and feet were completely submergedinside the divine tree. The Grey One had completed its assimilation.Furthermore, Godou noticed something."It's withering ?"Up until now it had been a thriving lush colossal divine tree.The delicate green tree leaves instantly dried up. The appearance of thetree branch and trunk seemed water deprived, dried up, withered. Shortlyafter, the small tree branches started to fall off one after another. Thesplash created foam on top of the water as soon as it crashed into the sea.Furthermore, it was similar to the Grey One who committed suicidebefore .The divine tree slowly crumbled like a building made of sand. Its remnantsdrifted towards the sky as parts of it were carried by the ocean breeze.What remained was the bird emblem floating on the surface of the ocean.It still remained motionless despite the force of the ocean waves as if itwas rooted firmly on the ocean surface."This time did the Grey One kill the divine tree ?""It intentionally slaughtered its ally after meeting a Campione?Understanding the reasoning behind this is impossible."Liliana and Erica both spoke with a perplexed expression. Godou tried toask Yuri."What do you think Yuri? Since this has happened, do you believe thedisturbance will settle down?""W-What will happen ? I just have an uneasy feeling in my chest. If itcontinues like this, the same thing will happen again no, I feel thissituation may worsen."Godou nodded as if indicating "yes" towards Yuri's worried declaration.Had the large divine tree attacked a moment ago, the summoning of theBoar would probably be enough to comfortably kill it. But without having todo any of that, those guys had already vanished by themselves.Perhaps this was the critical point in time .Part 3Once the unexpected evening cruise at Tokyo Bay was over, Godoureturned home at one in the morning.However, he did not go to sleep right away. He sat seiza-style on hissheets and continuously pondered over the situation for about two hours.Afterwards, morning came around with Godou waking up at six o'clock. Ona notepad, he wrote that he did not require breakfast and then departedfrom the house before Shizuka woke up.He then immediately snuck into the empty classroom and continued tocontemplate over the situation. Ever since yesterday, he became reallyconcerned over this matter. After reflecting about it without interruption allthe way till fifteen minutes before class started did he finally arrived at ananswer. Godou let out a heavy sigh.In the end, it was going to end up like this wasn't it? This answer was onethat he could somewhat accept.It was braving the risk of Shizuka saying "Why did you leave the house soearly in the morning!? Are you trying to stealthily hide something sinisterfrom me?" later on. After evaluating in solitude he had arrived at thisconclusion.Soon after, he returned to his normal state of mind.Liliana arrived at school and briefly conversed with the others. Shereceived an elegant greeting and a sneer from Erica as well as aninvitation by Nanami and the three idiots which went as followed, "Themaid coffee shop is already outdated, let's enjoy the winter special at thefrequently visited maid slushie shop, the large strawberry slushie".During this time, before he knew it class had begun.Today was December 21st. It was the day of the end of term ceremony.After the ceremony concluded without a hitch, Godou welcomed the end ofschool.Winter break was currently underway. Of course, the insides of theclassrooms and school were still permeating with energy. There werestudents who went out to play directly after school as well as a group whodiscussed about the scheduled activities during break. However, Godouchose not to participate in this kind of fervor.He immediately left the classroom and seized Yuri from the adjacentclassroom.Moreover, he repeatedly pleaded to her to inform him of the state of affairsregarding the post-event processing for the event from yesterday night."Everyone in the committee were discussing whether or not we could shutdown this phenomenon However, I'm afraid it was a god who createdthat divine artifact. I think the probability of a human creating it is extremelylow "This was what Yuri anticipated.After thanking her for providing this information, Godou headed towardsthe gym."What's the purpose for asking me to come to this kind of place?"Erica, who had come to this location, spoke with a commanding tone.Whether slinging criticisms with polite sarcasm or acting mysteriouslyill-tempered, Erica's recent attitude towards Godou carried elements ofboth. No, even before that he had always felt this wayIn short, the reason was probably because she wished to avoid having afriendly conversation with him.However, Godou wanted to converse with Erica right now. Even thoughthis was the case, he felt if he just brought up the topic upfront he wouldeasily be evaded in a graceful manner just like before.So he thought of a plan which involved using an email to call her out.After the end of term ceremony I'll be waiting in the sports field. P.S. Don'trun away ."Recently the amount of exercising I have been doing isn't adequate. Iwould like to give my body a bit of a workout."It was the baseball field for the academy's high school section. Godoustood at the field's home plate as he spoke. Placed by his feet werebaseball bats, gloves, and balls taken from the sports storage room."Accompany me for a bit. You've played prior to class before so it shouldbe no problem right?"Godou spoke as he grabbed a glove and baseball."Even if you are my opponent, I will still pitch an unhittable ball.""You sure know how to flatter yourself. You ought to know that I, EricaBlandelli, am a girl who can do more than just wield a sword right? Thereare very few weapons that I can't utilize as I please."Even though the provocation was unremarkable, it appears that he hadprovoked her fighting spirit.Unable to resist letting out a small burst of laughter, she picked up thebaseball bat. Simply just this behavior alone was like part of an agile danceroutine, a picturesque action.Was this thanks to being born with athletic aptitude and a Latin sense ofrhythm?"I was still thinking about the recent touchy feely business going onbetween you, Lily, and Yuri and that you should receive a suitablepunishment. You asking for trouble like this actually really makes mehappy.""W-What punishment? Hey."What was her reason for being that easily provoked? Godou started tocomplain in response."I didn't do anything to them. Our relationship only improved just a bit.""Do you think only an improvement in relationship would result in a lovetriangle? I can't believe this would happen unknowingly. Being as foolishand unwitty as you, you wouldn't know how to read the mood and coweraway from girls. Also, during those times you always act carefree. Justwhat I would expect from Kusanagi Godou's personality.""D-Don't act like you can see through my personality!""See through you? Matters regarding you I always seem to eh?"Erica revealed a perplexed expression. Godou also had a feeling ofuneasiness. They were currently conversing during their pitchingcompetition. The communication link to their dialogue seemed to havebeen severed by scissors"Forget about it. In a moment I will have you experience my supremacy!"Erica brushed aside any hesitation and proceeded to put her hand on theuniform's dress.She tore it apart without any hesitation, making a tear on each side to giveherself more mobility. Furthermore, she raised the baseball bat in anupward slant. She made this posture predicting she would hit a homerun.Overall her appearance was like a drawing. However, that posture wascomposed of gorgeousness. Even the aura of a slugger emanated fromher.After being separated for so long, he once again experienced Erica's talentand beauty. Godou felt inconceivably upbeat. As expected, without thiskind of behavior it would not be her.Godou felt the corners of his mouth rise as he proceeded to the pitchingmound."Let's start with five pitches ok? If you are able to send a ball flying thenyou win.""Ara, giving me such advantageous conditions, are you sure about that?""Haha, it'll be fine this time. Here I come."Following that, Godou pitched five balls in a row. Erica's baseball bat wasunable to even graze one ball. No, she actually didn't even swing once."Hey Godou aren't the balls you just pitched overlooking the premise ofbaseball?"Within the words of the red colored devil carried a tone of criticism as shemuttered."The balls should be pitched directly towards me with the outcome ofwhether I hit it or not being the competition in progress right? However, theballs you pitched were all excessively too high or to the sides."Precisely as Erica said, Godou's pitches were atrociously thrown.The balls that Godou pitched staggered either too far to the side or wentabove the blonde beauty standing in the batter's box. Because heconsidered the scope of Erica's arm length and the length of the bat, heimplemented his plan to pitch in the places where she was incapable ofreaching."It's fine like this. Since my objective was to only avoid letting you hit theball, I never intended on issuing a fair competition."As expected, baseball related sports are not mainstream in Italy.Not even the knowledgeable Erica had heard of the concept of walking thebatter so Godou explained the intention behind this course of action." So it's like that. This time I'll bear with the loss. Basically it's the sameas what you said before.""Are you referring to the objective of avoiding attaining victory or defeatupfront?"With only this degree of explanation, a tint of understanding graduallyemerged from Erica's pupils.We were easily able to converse. Maybe my relationship with this girl reallywasn't that bad.Godou felt this was unbelievable as he took it another step further andsaid:"The divine tree, the grotesque Grey One and so on, I feel like the goal ofthose guys is to prevent me from fighting. Isn't that why every time I getclose those subordinates would commit suicide?"Ever since the divine tree located at Tokyo Bay crumbled, he hadalways .After taking another look at the reason why those grey guys were thatsuspicious, he had come to a decision. It was to listen to Erica's opinionconcerning this matter since he didn't understand the reason why.If he wanted to find someone knowledgeable to help him, then Kaoruwould suffice. If a magic savvy knight was mentioned, Lilianademonstrated even more flexibility. Compared to Yuri who is the kind ofperson who possessed an abnormal spirit sensing ability, no other divinercould be as good of a conversational partner.However, despite all of this he still wanted to get Erica's opinion.Why would he do that? Kusanagi Godou had already overcome manybattles to the death. However, due to her frequent support in manyinstances during those battles Erica also appeared to have a sense ofimportance.Without any basis for it, this was how he felt."If it's like this then there would only be one reason."Once she heard Godou's opinion, Erica spoke in an imposing manner.That clear cut tone gave Godou an indescribable feeling of reliability."To buy more time. It's hard to believe that their actions would serve forany other constructive purpose.""So I'm right?""Yeah. In short it's the equivalent of protecting a city. The soldiers in thecity surrounded by a large army will desperately try to defend to the death,striving to engage in a defensive battle. By doing this, they are waiting forallies to come rescue them.Godou nodded while saying 'I see' towards the reasoning behind the battletactics Erica described.The reason for buying time was uncertain, but based on her description itwould make sense."Except, if we were to account for non-constructive reasonings ""Are you saying there is a possibility that it isn't a constructive plan?""Yes. For example, since the enemy is closely pursuing them during thedefense of a city, situations where there are a loss of judgment occur quitefrequently. Without reinforcements they would blindly fight to the end.There is also the situation right now with the intriguing actions done bythese guys it could also be possible that it has ties to a religiousceremony.""Uhh"In that case, there existed the possibility of it being irrational as well?Upon hearing Erica's point of view, Godou suddenly felt a flash of insight."Then in that case, what you are focusing on could precisely be thebreakthrough to the nucleus of the problem. Being able to elaborate to thatextent is quite interesting.""That's really flattering of you."Giving an obvious praise would undoubtedly be good, but why does sheneed to be so tactful?However, this was typical of Erica so Godou forced a smile."As a noblewoman, I should at the very least reward a gallant knight.Please be my temporary opponent once again."After she finished speaking, Erica extended her hand towards the areawhere the baseball equipment laid.This time she picked up both the glove and baseball."Let me crush your ego as we decide a legitimate winner this time.""Wait a second. You definitely mentioned giving a reward, how come itfeels like you want to defeat me?""The best reward is to simply enjoy the moment together where you and I,Erica Blandelli, can decide on the outcome of a battle. Also, if you want towin, a man would do it with his own two hands right?"Erica had a fearless smile as she spoke. Sure enough it was her lionesssmile.Fighting till the end? Godou also gave a heartfelt smile. For the moment,backing down was not an option when his dignity as a man was called intoquestion.This time Godou picked up the baseball bat.Afterwards the two of them agreed to the ambiguous rule that if he missedthe ball then Erica wins, if it is hit then Godou wins. This was not so mucha competition, but rather them having fun playing ball.Part 4In the end, the two of them played ball all the way till the sun was about toset.Godou was currently walking along Nezu street where a section of it wasdyed in an orange hue by the sunset. Erica was by his side and the two ofthem walked all the way here together.Godou's reasoning for this was that it unknowingly happened.Once the unresolved competition had concluded and the equipment hadbeen put away, Erica very naturally followed him after he said "well, it'sabout time to go home".Although, if he wanted to refuse walking together with her, there weremany reasons he could have come up with. However, overall he felt a 'thisis pretty good' kind of feeling.Why does Erica want to follow him? Perhaps it unknowingly happened forher as well. Superseding all this was an issue regarding"I feel pretty hungry after that thorough exercise."He spoke of his animal-like desires in this manner. Erica was unfazed as aresult and instead ignored all the ensuing reasons for it."Same here. There's still some time before dinner, let's just find some otherplace to hang out in the meantime.""You're still the same as before, completely ignoring the necessity ofhaving a balanced diet.""Those portions had already become the calories for daily consumption. Ihaven't overlooked the intake and expenditure calculations in regards tothis aspect."The two of them walked in jest to the Nezu Sanchome shopping district.There were still a few minutes before arriving at Godou's house.Just as Godou thought it was about time to say goodbye, Erica suddenlystopped in her tracks."Actually, this has been on my mind for quite a while now. You could saythat I've been restraining myself like someone enduring the passage oftime, but there really is an indescribable flavor permeating the air here."The place Erica was looking at was a Chinese restaurant that Godourecognized.To put it politely, a shabby looking restaurant would be a suitabledescription. Indeed, its style, making the place known as the "town's Chinashop", refers to the shop's structure that had been maintained all the waysince the Showa period. The restaurant was covered in oil stains and dirt.The outer appearance would compel any teenage girl to immediatelydistance herself from this establishment.However, Erica was instead attracted to this decrepit and filthy place. Withthat said, could it be that regardless of the restaurant's style and cookingthat were completely devoid of personality, as long as the disgusting foodstill honored its characteristic flavor it would fit Erica's dietary lifestyle?"So it's that one. Well, if it's Erica then she wouldn't mind" said Godou.After all, he was a native inhabitant so the type of restaurant was very clearto him. There was a provocative advertisement pasted on the glass doorentrance that had the words 'mud wonton, mud dumpling, mud ramen'printed on it."It's a pretty interesting restaurant, I like it a lot. Well, goodbye.""Godou, please hold on for a sec."Just when he was about to take his leave, Erica grabbed his arm."You intend to provoke the expectations of I, Erica Blandelli, solely so youcan head back by yourself first?"Erica spoke in a fearless manner while having dragged Godou to her side."If it turns out that it isn't as interesting as you guaranteed, I will hold youaccountable. So please accompany me a bit longer.""Eh eh! ?"I was undoubtedly close to home, why must I go with her? Godoudisplayed an intention to decline her.However, there was probably no way to overpower the intensity exertedfrom Erica's strong muscles. In the end, he was dragged into therestaurant by her.After that, an hour had passed."I see, it's just a restaurant with freshwater fish cuisine containing a muddyaftertaste."After sampling practically all of the dishes on the table, Erica appeared tospeak with profound admiration.The cuisines consisted of snakehead fish plus wonton made with celery,carp repeatedly fried in oil, a steamed dish with eel and tofu, and there wasa dish they were attentively staring at named 'catfish mud dumplings withsweet vinegar stuffing'."How should I put it? It makes people cast doubts on the original meaningof a cuisine. It seems like they wanted to conceal the muddy odor by usingspices and specially grounded freshwater fish paste mixed together.However, this will never fool me. So that's why they added a filling sosweet that anyone would get tired of it.""As expected, you really like those kinds of dishes that are difficult to eatand the taste of anything crudely made."Godou sighed in sorrow as he spoke to Erica who was analyzing thecuisine's taste with vigor.After glancing over the restaurant's menu and ordering many dishes,Godou immediately gave up on eating at home. He already called Shizukato let her know he was going out to eat.As a result, Godou maneuvered his chopsticks without worry.After taking a bite off the carp fried in oil, he felt the texture of the crunchyand flaky skin to be very well done.It was not just some crudely made food, this place actually specialized infreshwater fish cuisine."The father of the restaurant's owner seemed to have gone to China in thepast in order to go to school. As a result, he became fascinated with a dishmade out of a fish caught in some sort of Yangzte River tributary. He hadpreviously said that he generally studied authentic Cantonese cuisine.Although, this restaurant's flavor isn't true Cantonese style."This restaurant however was a place where the owner often carried out hisown culinary creations.Especially items such as the catfish dumplings, it is doubtful whether or notit even exists in China. This was why Godou had initially refused to enterthe establishment. Erica then cheerfully said:"Since it's like this, let's also call Lu Yinghua at some later point in time andlet him have a taste. That kid was raised in Hong Kong the cuisinethere originated from Cantonese cuisine. The Lu household in Hong Kongshould also have a Cantonese restaurant in business.""Eh? Yinghua?"Hearing this familiar sounding name gave Godou a jolt.However, why is it that up until now I had forgotten this name? Lu Yinghua.A name with Ying, a friend of the same age ? Where would I haveencountered this guy?And right now there was this equally important matter.Within his name was actually the word 'Ying'. On the confusing warningemail, the name Ying also appeared in the email sender's name .Could this be considered purely coincidental?"Where is that guy and what's he doing right now ?""Ara, now that you mention it where did he go ?"When this seemingly familiar person of importance was mentioned, Erica,who was much more adept at gathering intelligence compared to any otherperson and was frequently capable of grasping other people's movements,felt perplexed.Due to her uncharacteristic reaction, Godou couldn't help but put pause hischopstick movements for a bit and began to ponder."If you don't mind, would you like to come to my house for a bit? You arewelcomed to have some tea."Godou asked as soon as they exited the Chinese restaurant. Why does hefeel a bit reluctant to part ways with Erica?Also, doesn't she feel the same as well? It was very intuitive to believe thiswas the case."I suppose so. I don't want to be like some sort of vulgar person whooverstays Even though I really want to say something along those lines,perhaps it will be fine this time."The foul-mouthed Erica avoided saying it straightforwardly like she wouldusually do. Plus, it was obvious there was an unfathomable changehappening within her, something made her feel indecisive."However, I can't go. There's a place I need to pay a visit. This matter isprobably more important than your invitation."After only saying a few words, Erica quickly took off.Godou sighed. Even though he felt they got along during those past fewhours, maybe his belief was wrong? Well, there is nothing he can do aboutit. Furthermore, Godou had some matters to carefully reflect on.There was the name Erica previously said, Lu Yinghua, as well as theemail notifying him that there will be something revived during the wintersolstice. The sender was Lu Yinghua.The so-called Ying was probably Lu Yinghua. In addition, what exactly isthe resurrection that was mentioned ?"Onii-chan! What is up with you going on a dinner date with that blondehaired study abroad student living near our house!? There's no usepretending to be stupid because I was notified by a number of people whosaw you two at that restaurant!"As he returned home and began thinking through things, Shizuka suddenlystarted interrogating him.Godou ignored her and returned to his own room on the second floor.Where could he meet Lu Yinghua? After checking his cellphone for anaddress, he realized that the number was registered on his phone.He immediately called him, however he was unable to reach him.Godou felt very anxious. Up until now he had been feeling a very intensesensation of being trapped. The feeling was akin to being enclosed in amaze.However, the structure of this maze seemed to be pretty simple. Even if hewas trapped, couldn't he just pulverize the walls of the maze? If only therewas something to give him a push, he would clearly be able to do so!While he was feeling extremely anxious, the cellphone displayed anincoming call.The display screen showed Seishuuin Ena as the incoming caller. Herecalled that she was the Hime-Miko of the Sword, Yuri's friend, and shewas someone whom he had seen many times before.Nevertheless, their relationship is not at the point where they couldexchange personal contact info right?His memory was really vague so he was unable to think very much indetail. In any case, he might as well press the talk button first to receive thecall."Ah, Your Majesty? It's been so long since we last saw each other! Rightnow Ena is at Mount Mitsumine. Has the party's location been determinedyet?"The voice coming from across the phone had a blunt, cheerful, andoptimistic feel to it.Godou was at a complete loss towards her candidness and questioned herin response."What do you mean by party ?""You know, the Christmas one. Ena would always go to the mountainsduring these times so this kind of thing would actually a first for me.Everyone will be eating an entire bird right?""Christmas party ?"It was his first time hearing about this activity. No, was this really the case?Didn't everyone go over this before?Even though it's a bit bold, I might as well take responsibility for thetask of hosting it.Well, incidentally holding a gathering within the house sounds prettynice.However, is a miko normally allowed to celebrate Christmas?1 guess the level of strictness isn't to that extent. Furthermore .Every year around this time Kaoru-san would become very ferocious.Starting from around the 20th, every day she would be going out with thegirls. With a person as difficult to deal with as her, even the nagging fromher senior would prove to be useless.'This year we will do it precisely as Your Majesty suggested. I will be donewith these religious practices before Christmas. For the time being Ena willbe staying here. Everyone wanted to go watch the New Year's sunrisetogether. Would it be ok if we viewed it from Mt. Fuji?'The vivid conversation and memory transferred through the phone wasenshrouded."My suggestion "'Of course, did you forget? Ah, well then, how's it going over there? YourMajesty and cult leader-sama had just met. If you are still alive right now,does that mean everything went alright?'M iiShe kept on saying things that he could not recall, puzzling Godou.As a result, on the other side of the phone, Ena whispered 'Your Majesty isbehaving really strange today'.'Uh, what? Eh so it's like that. It turned out like this huh.'She suddenly started saying some strange things."What are you mumbling about, what's the matter?"'Just then, the Ama no Murakumo updated Ena on the most recentsituation. It seems quite chaotic, but there is no need to worry. If YourMajesty wishes to battle, call out the Ama no Murakumo. An action of thatdegree should be able to easily break the curse.'"Did you say curse! ?"'Yeah, uh my batteries are running out. Ena will immediately head toTokyo. As expected I must accompany Your Majesty in order to avoidboredom!'After leaving some brief words, the line was suddenly disconnected.With that said, it was rather troublesome that Ena's cellphone wouldalways lag due to insufficient battery power. Furthermore, she was able touse the cellphone as a medium to communicate with a guardian god.An example would be with Susanoo. This time it was basicallycommunicating with the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi lodged withinGodou's right arm!" Oh yeah! Me and Seishuuin are both utilizing this guy aren't we!?"Godou finally recalled bond he had to the Miko of the Sword.In addition, he even comprehended the meaning behind Ena's words. TheAma no Murakumo no Tsurugi was a divine sword under the possession ofGodou. For the most part he avoided using it as a blade, instead he usedthis sword's treasure trove of useful functions.One of which was the ability to break apart magic. Although, its abilitiesappear to have no effect when used against gods and Campiones.Nevertheless, against these comparatively weak forms of wizardry it waseasily able to absorb the effect, rendering it useless.Godou directed his attention towards his right arm. The words 'awaken!',which were directed to the hibernating sword, resounded within him.Being among those with the blood of [Steel], he lacked interest in anythingother than combat matters. That was why other than in critical moments,the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi would hibernate.Ena appeared to be capable of engaging a sword of this disposition incasual conversation while Godou was incapable of doing so.Are you calling for me, King?Upon hearing that haughty reply, Godou immediately issued out an order."If you notice anything out of the ordinary, be sure to promptly give awarning!"'Didn't we go over this before? My demeanor is that of a faithful sword god.There would be no harm in showing off a bit if you wanted to engage inbattle.'"If it's a battle you want then be quiet and mind your own business."Godou was conversing with the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi lodgedwithin his arm while hurrying towards Nezu station.Fortunately it was already the dead of night. After 2 A.M. the number ofpedestrians present around Nezu were scarce in number so he didn't haveto bear the befuddled expressions of others."Hey, in order to disturb the area around me, he used a curse which hadmessed up our memories. Can other people break free from the curse aswell?"Just then, I was referring to the removal of the curse that altered my usualbehavior.The results were quite significant, right now Godou had already returned tohis normal self.Kusanagi Godou was the Campione residing in Tokyo. His partnersincluded Erica Blandelli, Mariya Yuri, Liliana Kranjcar, and SeishuuinEna .However, the only one with him today was the person of steel locatedwithin his right arm.'You could just have me out in front but there is no point in doing so.'"Why?"This curse is from the heretic god of bountiful harvests no, I bet he isstill plotting to have his newly born priest do something. Under allcircumstances when the one serving as a priest is present, even when thecurse is broken a new one will be reapplied. Unless you sever the root ofits cause there is no point in doing anything else.'"Basically you're saying my entire surroundings are being enveloped by thecurse."'Of course. A priest's power is to guide the people. Engulfing one or twometropolises with this power that manipulates the minds of the massesshouldn't be a surprise right?'Rather than calling this mental manipulation, it would be better to say thiswas the power to manipulate the masses.Godou recalled Verethragna's Goat incarnation, a priest's power tominister the hearts of the masses. This kind of psychic sensing previouslyenveloped Tokyo's Hibiya district as well as the Nikkou district.With that said, the psychic sensing utilized by Yuri was also capable ofbeing spread across a pretty large-scale area."In other words, the scope of this type of power is quite vast "To think we actually possess these types of troublesome powers.Godou included himself within the concerning group of people who hadsuperpowers beyond belief."Well, since it's like this, having the range subjected to just being withinTokyo is actually quite good."So that was why Ena, who resided in the Chichibu mountains, was able toevade being affected.The curse this time was targeted towards Kusanagi Godou. This was sothe relationship of the Campione Kusanagi Godou and his partners woulddrift apart, rendering them incapable of operating effectively. The objectiveof those guys who brought about this matter was precisely as Erica hadpredicted, they wanted to buy time.For the sake of reviving the heretic god Saturnus!"Overall we made a breakthrough. Now to figure out how to retaliate "'Hahaha very well, King. You can use this momentum to raise your fightingspirit and battle recklessly.'"l-ldiot! If the enemy were to avoid battling and retreat that would be thebest case scenario right? Don't always talk about these outrageousmatters!"Having his desire to battle apprehended, Godou tried to cover up the truthin a panic.Godou rushed onto a tram towards Shinjuku. He had to meet up with LuYinghua as soon as possible It was imperative to first contact thenephew of the mischievous sworn elder sister who had imposed a certainmission on him.Through the JR subway interchange route, he had arrived at Shinjukustation.Rushing past the vast station area, he headed towards the streets duringthe evening. His destination was Kabukicho, a sort of high class downtownarea that most high school students should steer clear from.Lu Yinghua was a young cadre leader representing the Lu householdlocated in Hong Kong .They have a maid related business establishment operating at Akihabara.However, that is merely something experimental. It seemingly was meantto try and establish a stronghold presence within the redevelopingElectronic Street.They were one of the so-called Chinese gangs. This group had astronghold located in Hong Kong.In Japan, it should be said that their original sphere of influence was inShinjuku and Ikebukuro. Godou wanted to visit the place previously knownnot too long ago as the Shinjuku business that sold beds of Japanesevariety.By virtue of memory, Godou navigated through the Kabukicho crowd.His destination was a certain rundown multi-tenant building. Headinginside, Chinese restaurants, massage centers, mahjong parlors, andacupuncture clinics etc. could be seen as he walked towards the flight ofstairs within the building to get to the uppermost floor.The moment he entered the reputation lacking and brandless business,Godou said:"Pardon my intrusion, I wish to speak to the young master would it beok to address him as such? I would like to speak with Lu Yinghua, can youhelp me reach him? Perhaps you guys already know, I'm KusanagiGodou."Within the firm's spatial arrangements were some cheap chairs and tablesfor the business.At first glance, this seemed to be the office of some small or mediumenterprise. However, the people on duty here seemed to be bald men whowere two meters in height and have tattoos pierced on their foreheads.These casanovas wearing their gaudy suits clearly did not look like honestpeople.Furthermore, no matter how you look at them, there were people wholooked like short guys with thin, white beards, holding divine inscriptions.They appeared to be nonreligious people engaging in soothsaying. Therewere also effeminate men who were currently doing their makeup after justopening up their makeup products.In a certain sense, it could be said that it was a group where villains andheroes were mixed together like the Outlaws of the Water Margin^ \They were all important members from the Japanese division within the Luhousehold one would think. Requesting them to give it their all wasGodou's first step for retaliation.References1 . tin Roman Mythology, Saturn is the "God of Time". Saturn isCronus from Greek Mythology, who escaped the wrath of Zeus. Thenwithin Greek mythology is Chronos who is the Greek God of Time.Long story short, Cronus=Saturn2. t Freyr is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Hewas a god of the sun and rain, and the patron of bountiful harvests.3. t Dagda is an important god of Irish mythology. His attributes are acauldron with an inexhaustible supply of food, a magical harp withwhich he summons the seasons, and an enormous club, with one endof which he could kill nine men, but with the other restore them to life.He also possessed two marvelous swine — one always roasting, theother always growing — and ever-laden fruit trees.4. t The Water Margin, a story set in the Song Dynasty, tells of how agroup of 108 outlaws gathered at Mount Liang to form a sizable armybefore they are eventually granted amnesty by the government andsent on campaigns to resist foreign invaders and suppress rebelforces.