Campione!

Chapter 4 - Call From the Demonic RealmPart 1December 31 , New Year's Eve.Japanese citizens considered it a great event marking the changeover to anew year.Nevertheless, on this commemorative day, Kusanagi Godou was currentlyexposed under the sun. This was intense sunlight one would absolutely notfind on the islands of Japan during winter.Scorching sun. Air filled with heat and humidity. The familiar taste ofmidsummer.The city of Tokyo was approximately 35 degrees in latitude. Shifting southfrom there by roughly 30 degrees, Godou's current location was practicallyon the equator.Geographically speaking, this was Borneo's northern shore, a city calledKota Kinabalu located in Malaysian territory."I never imagined I'd spend New Year's in a place like this..."Godou muttered with deep feeling.Kota Kinabalu was the largest city in the region.This ocean-facing city contained beautiful beaches. Resort hotels could befound everywhere.Godou was currently situated downtown where quite a few shoppingcenters and food courts were concentrated. It was a crowded andprosperous place."It feels nothing like New Year's Eve here.""It feels strange for me. Ever since childhood, this is the first time I am notbusy with miko duties this time of the year..."Yuri commented from beside Godou with a slightly concerned expression.It was currently after 2pm and the group was taking a short break at anopen-air cafe.Godou ordered iced coffee while Yuri had iced milk tea. In this tropicalzone where the weather was like summer all year round, it was onlynatural to thirst for iced drinks.There was one more item on the bill. Fresh avocado juice with condensedmilk.This viscous drink, thick enough for a straw to stand upright in the middle,was of course Erica's order."Indeed, only someone like Godou would be visited by troublesomematters all the time."The discussion held with Amakasu at the Cape Inubou hotel occurred twodays ago.After Godou declared a direct assault on the enemy's stronghold, theHistory Compilation Committee member immediately set about gatheringinformation.While that was proceeding, Godou and his companions returned to Tokyoand prepared to travel overseas.Once everything was ready, they boarded a flight late at night onDecember 30.After a night's sleep on the plane, they landed in Singapore in the morning.Then taking a connecting flight from there, they arrived today — the morningof December 31 , at this city of Kota Kinabalu.In Godou's company were the four girls, Erica, Yuri, Liliana and Ena.The one who organized this trip was surprisingly the girl known as the[Diavolo Rosso]."The History Compilation Committee is simply an organization controlling asingle country — Japan, without branch outposts or influence in foreignlands... Hence, this time they are 'backing us up but not officially,' actingentirely as sponsors who happen to be on site."Shaking the light green juice as she drank, Erica explained."But even for you, the [Copper Black Cross] doesn't have brancheseverywhere, right?""Not everywhere, but the [Copper Black Cross] happens to havepermanent staff posted here. This provides the credibility for us to beintroduced to a local person of influence. Since the [Heretic God] has beencausing them hardship, they are greatly looking forward to Devil KingKusanagi Godou's arrival.""W-What Devil King's arrival, it's not supposed to be like that..."Godou's face twitched in response to hearing Erica's way of phrasingthings."By the way, Erica-san. What kind of person is this person of influence?"Taking a sip of her iced milk tea, Yuri inquired.Erica had selected Yuri as one of the people accompanying Godou ontheir visit to the local person of influence. "Because Yuri's power isprobably needed" was her explanation."I heard that this country has neither an organization like Japan's HistoryCompilation Committee nor large scale associations like the ones inEurope... But among the commonfolk there are those who live by fortunetelling and wizardry.""Indeed it seems to be so."Erica nodded and continued:"In this part of Southeast Asia, there aren't any intelligence agencies orassociations with outstanding power and influence. But you see, wouldn'tformer yakuza or mafia have quite a bit of prestige and influence in a placelike this?""Y-Yaku— !?""Come to think of it, that feels like a pretty good description of Yinghua'sfamily...""Yes, Hong Kong's Lu family is a classic example of cartel operations inSoutheast Asia and other places. A gathering of proudly competent talent,spellcasters and even the poor, using them to operate various legal andillegal enterprises."The trio conversed in these matters as the drinks slaked their thirst. Thenthey left the cafe.Godou was dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and hemp cargo pants whichhe had not worn for quite some time ever since the weather cooled.Erica had a red camisole and ankle-length black pants. Yuri, on the otherhand, was wearing a refreshing one-piece dress in white.Leaving from Japan in midwinter, they were plunged into a land of summerheat all at once.Although it was a little sudden, the hot weather felt quite nostalgic aftermonths of absence. Indeed, there was an unexpected sense of freshnessand delight.Furthermore, Liliana and Ena had gone out shopping for this "expedition."Indeed, the streets of Kota Kinabalu was not their final destination. Thiswas merely a place along the way.Godou and Yuri followed Erica as she walked. Along the way, the skysuddenly gave rise to a downpour of rain. A shower brought by a squall.As expected of a tropical zone. Apparently, chances of sudden showerswere quite high during the afternoon.The trio frantically sought shelter in a food court.After buying food to one's liking from a row of food vendors, one could sitdown and eat at an empty table. This type of sheltered food court wasquite common throughout the city of Kota Kinabalu."It really rains quite heavily here."The pitter-patter of raindrops striking the rooftops and road surface wasquite intense.Godou's clothes were completely drenched. Nevertheless, this unexpectedinconvenience was actually enjoyable, for it offered the experience of aclimate and culture completely different from Japan's. A very real sense ofconcreteness."Anyway, since the weather is so hot, our clothes will dry soon enough..."Carrying this sort of joyful mood, Godou turned to his two femalecompanions only to be rendered speechless.Erica and Yuri were dressed in flimsy summer clothing. Due to beingdrenched by the sudden rain, their clothes now clung tightly to their bodies.Consequently, their bodies' lines of curvature became particular clear toview.Furthermore, Yuri's one-piece dress was white. Even her drenchedunderwear was visible beneath her dress —"G-Godou-san. Could you please stop staring like that?!""Oh my, what a rare act of initiative. Does this stem from the liberatingfeeling of traveling overseas?"Reacting to the girls' comments, Godou frantically turned his gaze away.While Godou focused on directing his gaze elsewhere until the girls'clothes dried, the trio strolled around the food court that provided shelterfrom the rain.Seeing all sorts of food displayed at the food stands, Erica narrowed hereyes."Just as I thought, Asian places like this are the top choice for a chaoticculinary experience. Although Japan is a country of comfort, it hasn't livedup to my expectations in the area of food."A bunch of total nonsense.But Godou could understand. He could tell from a single glance. This wasindeed the type of place Erica would enjoy.Representative of Malay cuisine was the spicy fried rice dish of nasigoreng, made with chicken resembling yakitori meat and a sauce preparedfrom peanuts and coconut milk. That could be considered the basics. Thenthere was the Malaysian burger containing a hamburger patty wrapped inan omelette.^ This type of food could be considered the applied version ofMalay cuisine.Chinese cuisine prepared by ethnic Chinese also added much variety andcolor to the offerings.There were also Indian curry shops as well as all sorts of global fast foodchains, etc.There were even seafood shops where one picked fish from a tank to bebarbecued. Furthermore, tropical fruit varieties were sold, such as the kingof fruits, the pungent durian.Other than pork which was conspicuously absent in Islamic areas, this wastruly the place for a chaotic culinary experience."It'd be nice to look for and have a fill of food to my liking...""Let's not eat now since we have an appointment later. How about we waituntil dinnertime, okay?"Stopping Erica, Godou gave Yuri a glance to seek her agreement.To his great surprise, the Yamato Nadeshiko was unexpectedly staring at afood stand with great interest."Mariya... Could it be, you're hungry?""Ah, no. Not at all. I am just curious."Yuri answered shyly as she looked back."In the past when traveling in Vietnam with my family, I only tried noodlesfrom this kind of shop once. Thinking back, the food was really quitedelicious. Fufu, I remember we were eating it on the go.""In that case, Yuri, you may count on me, Erica Blandelli."The blonde devil winked at the sheltered young lady who was smilingcalmly."Back when I was in Hong Kong, I ate at stands like these every singleday.""Really!? If I may, then I shall count on you!""Indeed. That looks about right, undoubtedly so."Godou began to smile wryly in response to Erica and Yuri's enthusiasm,seemingly sharing some sort of strange motivation.Despite being clearly well-educated girls, they did not seem particularlybothered by these vendors' hygiene."Erica aside, I never knew that Mariya had quite a strong-willed side toher.""M-Me, do I really seem strong-willed to you?"Yuri murmured while smiling with a slightly delighted expression.Godou's careless comment seemed to have pleased the dignified YamatoNadeshiko. While Godou was baffled by the reason, Erica mockedsarcastically."What an idiot you are, Godou. Getting along with someone like Godouwould surely require Yuri to harbor a resolute will of iron somewhere in thedepths of her heart. It's something one would acquire and develop afterstaying by your side for so long.""1-1 see..."Recalling his various instances of unruly conduct, Godou expressedunderstanding while Yuri smiled wryly with a troubled expression.While they conversed on a variety of topics, the rain had stopped beforethey knew it. The sky was clear and sunny once more.Due to the rain just now, the air temperature had cooled somewhat, givinga cooler refreshing feeling. Godou and Yuri continued to follow Erica,making their way to a certain market.In actual fact, they had already visited this place once already beforetaking the break at the open-air cafe.At the time, it was simply an empty clearing. But now, an hour later, tentshad been raised all over the place, with little stands and open-air stallslined in rows side by side.Everyday sundries, vegetables, fruits and various wares were being sold.However, most eye-catching of all was the seafood. There were not onlyspecies commonly sold in Tokyo such as horse mackerel, Spanishmackerel, barracuda, squid, but also colorful fishes unique to the SouthSeas like the yellowback fusilier.Glancing at these shops as they made their way, Erica finally stoppedbefore a certain tent.This was a vendor selling everyday sundries. In the depths of the storewas a petite old lady, dressed modestly in a white shirt with a black skirt.She had the lightly tanned skin tones of ethnic Malays. Alone by herself,she was sitting in a folding chair.Based on appearance, she seemed like a friendly "old granny."However, she was actually the "person of influence" that Erica hadmentioned earlier. So she was the fortune teller and wizard who acted asthe leader of pickpockets, thieves and pirates in the area?"Your Majesty, arriving from distant lands, a cordial welcome to you."The influential old lady greeted Godou using broken English.Then she clapped her hands together and bowed slowly towards Godou asone would pay respects to a Buddha statue.Part 2Two days earlier at Cape Inubou, Amakasu was explaining about thedivine beasts' stronghold.The South Seas is a region of the ocean containing over a hundredislands of various sizes, located west of the Philippines and northwest ofBorneo. These islands came in all sorts, with some uninhabited, some withresort hotels built on them, while some housed military installations of thevarious surrounding countries."Amakasu sighed as he spoke.'Reportedly, on the largest uninhabited island of them all, mysterious giantcreatures suddenly appeared several days ago... Yes, those two divinebeasts, the snake and the strange bird that came all the way over to Japanlast night to cause a commotion."'They are already confirmed to have returned to the island in the SouthChina Sea after their defeat at Kusanagi-san's hands. It really reminds meof those monster movies from the Shouwa era, this monster islandappearing in Southeast Asian seas...'Although the tone of Amakasu's report was frivolous, there was little jokingin the content.Hence, Godou and his group traveled to Kota Kinabalu to deal with theproblematic island. Using this city as a staging ground, they firstinvestigated the island's state of affairs —And now in a Kota Kinabalu market, they were currently meeting arepresentative of the local wizardry scene."We cannot express our utmost gratitude well enough for Your Majesty'sexpress visit...""D-Don't mention it. I intend to investigate the island's situation to get aclear idea first."Godou began to get flustered because the influential old lady kept bowingrepeatedly with her hands together to show her gratitude.Rather than a king, it was more like being treated as a Buddha. This wasquite a difference in treatment compared to other people Godou hadencountered who were involved in the field."I will prepare ships immediately. But our utmost apologies... Though theisland surfaced three years ago, we know very little about it..."As the old lady explained in an unhurried fashion, Godou was baffled bythe mentioning of "three years.""Oh my, it was on a certain day three years ago, when that island hadsurfaced on the sea by the time we noticed. It was a place that wasoriginally empty sea. Thus abruptly did it appear. The island has mountainsand forests. For such a rather normal-looking island to suddenly emerge,the fishermen, the pirates and the navy were all greatly surprised."Godou threw a glance at his companion. Erica nodded in response.She apparently knew already but had kept it to herself for some reason."And the very strange thing was, once anyone lands on the island, theycould not get out...""Not get out?""According to our members who have set foot on the island, they naturallygot lost in the middle of walking around. Then for a good many days, theywere disoriented along their way to the beach. Only the lucky onesreached the ship to return from the island..."Godou recalled someone he knew.Why would that guy be involved in this incident — ? He looked at Ericaagain to find her with an expression as if she wanted to say something."Indeed this is the case" was what she seemed to be saying."It is an island that did not exist in this country before. Hence, no localsailor will approach it. Only people like us are privy to this knowledge..."This island was not recorded on any maps or marine atlases, huh. AsGodou nodded, the old lady put her hands together again and knelt inworship."We would be most grateful if Your Majesty could be so kind as to head tothe island for a look. Please, we are counting on you.""Granny, may we have a look at the object?"Erica interjected."The object... Ah yes, the thing that drifted to a nearby beach three yearsago, shortly after the island appeared. I believe it should be related tosome particular god..."The old lady stood up and began to search a wooden box behind her.She took a slender rod-shaped stone, roughly a meter in length, its girthjust barely small enough to grasp in one hand. Its uneven surface was jetblack like obsidian.Godou could feel faint magical power emanating from the black stone.Some kind of power resided in it apparently.As soon as she looked at the stone, Yuri shuddered."Did you see something, Yuri? This object could be a divine artifact, soplease try to appraise it. Perhaps this might be a decisive clue?""V-Very well. This is—"Asked by Erica, the Hime-Miko spoke an oracle solemnly."Using the divine artifact of creation, the mother created land out of theprimordial sea, summoning freshwater, nurturing lush vegetation... Wehave already seen a similar item before."Yuri deliberately added the last sentence, for apparently the same doubthad crossed her mind.Yes. Last time, there was also a mysterious island that suddenly appearedin the sea. All who entered the island were disoriented by the magicalpower of a labyrinth. Furthermore, the island was created using the allegednation-founding divine artifact that appeared in the form of a small tool —Godou nodded, Erica crossed her arms, while Yuri looked worried.Surely the trio must have recalled the same image.Two hours later, Godou and his group were out at sea.The tropical ocean was dyed bright orange by the glow of the setting sun.A large sport fisher was speeding nimbly across the sea. More accurately,it should be called a sunset cruise.This was the ship prepared by the old lady at the market for Godou'sgroup.Equipped with showers and air conditioning, the ship's spacious cabin waslike the living room of a house. There were even two rooms with cots. Thiswas a large ship used for living out at sea for days to enjoy the pleasuresof fishing.— The waters of the mysterious island were located not far from KotaKinabalu.Supposed to be reached before night, it meant they should be able toobserve the island's situation from afar before daylight ended. It would beideal if the deity incident could be resolved before it expanded in scale. Forthis purpose, the trio converged with Liliana and Ena then proceeded toboard this ship.Sailors from the old lady's subordinates were in charge of operating theship.Presently, Godou and his friends were holding a strategy conference in thecabin.Seated, Liliana Kranjcar opened the discussion with a gloomy expression:"This is simply speculation. Although there exist 'reasons for thinking so,' Ithink subjecting a certain person to allegations would be jumping toconclusions. Nevertheless, I shall still proceed with this thought."She was dressed in casual clothing with a blue lacy blouse and blackshorts. Even so, Liliana spoke like a knight in a rigorous tone."I believe England's Black Prince is very likely related to this incident."Possessing the labyrinth authority, Alexandre Gascoigne was involved inthe past incident of the Heavenly Reverse Halberd and the floating island.As expected, Liliana was thinking of that commotion. It was only natural.Everyone thought so too. After all, even Ena exclaimed with deep feelingdespite her optimistic personality."It's that saying, right? As suspicious as being caught with your hand in thecookie jar."Definitely suspicious no matter what. Godou voiced his agreement with thepossibility and nodded.Also, Seishuuin Ena had finally changed out of her usual uniform afterleaving Japan. She was currently dressed in a short-sleeved parka withcargo pants, a style common to men in summer.The supplies Liliana and Ena had bought at the market during the daywere currently left in a corner of the cabin. The cardboard box was stuffedfull of equipment, clothing and food, etc. They had simply picked upanything they thought might be useful for exploring an uninhabited island inthe South Seas."Think about it, that guy used rather elaborate methods when he causedthe Tokyo Bay commotion. He was also quite clear on how to use a divineartifact like the Heavenly Reverse Halberd...""Because he had an opportunity to test out a similar plan before... This isquite possible."Godou muttered and Erica concurred.This was a conversation that could easily veer into slander with one falsestep. The only one who abstained from participating was Yuri, who listenedto everyone with a troubled expression. But perhaps she was simply bornnaturally polite.On occasion she would go "Indeed..." and nod in agreement. She did notdisplay any intention of objecting."So currently, where is that Gascoigne guy anyway?""Unknown as usual. But earlier, there were reports of him in Spain."As Godou wondered, Erica answered immediately, fully prepared asexpected."Well, it's not like he'll answer honestly even if we ask him directly. Let'scontinue to investigate step by step..."While they chatted, the ship successfully arrived near the problematicisland.They were about to reach the destination, the Indian sailors reported.Godou and his group stopped their discussion and walked out onto thedeck which offered an expansive view of the South China Sea illuminatedby the evening glow of the sunset.Were this a sightseeing trip, this scenery would definitely be quite moving.However, the "island" ten-odd kilometers ahead was the lair where thosesuspicious divine beasts resided. Moreover, anyone entering arbitrarilywould be imprisoned by the labyrinth's power. This was literally a demonicrealm.It was definitely no small island, given its substantial visible area.Rather tall elevations in the center of the island could be seen from the seaafar. A rough estimate would place the altitude as comparable to ordinarymountains. The island was covered with trees, offering a lush green view.The ship cruised straight forward, landing on the island at a cove thatresembled an entrance."It's bigger than I imagined..."Muttering to himself, Godou suddenly realized."Speaking of which, how long do Gascoigne's labyrinths last for? Left herefor three years already, it can still be sustained?""Assuming Prince Alec is absent from the island, the magical effectsshould start dissipating after roughly three or four months.""From then on, the magical effects will gradually weaken all over thelabyrinth. This is recorded in the Witenagemot's reports."Erica and Liliana answered, highly knowledgeable."Then it isn't really that guy...? It's hard to imagine a busy guy like himcoming here regularly.""Conversely, assuming he is going that far, this might be quite an importantlocation?""Alternatively, some kind of spell or divine artifact may have been used toextend the duration of his authority's effects."From the swiftness of the counterarguments, the moral failings of theperson in question were clear to see.Oh well, this was all due to the deplorable nature of his habitual behavior...In any case, the plan was set to begin investigating and scouting out theisland tonight. Although Godou was not much help in this regard, the girlswere a separate case altogether. Liliana's witchcraft and Yuri's exceptionalspirit vision were especially sure to produce results.Hence everyone began to make preparations on the ship....They definitely could not afford to be careless.Godou and Ena were both very sensitive to danger given their keen,beast-like instincts. Erica and Liliana were also on watch in full alert.Furthermore, Yuri was present with her incomparably sharp spiritualsenses.Nevertheless, in spite of all that, no one was able to detect the imminentarrival of the incoming attack.— An astounding gust of wind suddenly swept across the ship's deck.Completely caught unprepared, the ship's sailors and even Erica andLiliana were blown away by the wind. With a series of splashing noisessounding from the night sea after the sun had set, all of them fell into thewater.The only one unaffected was Godou who was left standing alone on deck.It was no natural wind. Most likely supernatural wind produced throughmagic and divine powers, hence a Campione's body was unaffected —"Godou!" "Kusanagi Godou!"Erica and Liliana's voices were heard from the sea beyond the ship.Sounds of the crew's screams suggested that everyone were unharmed.Instead, the place of danger was actually Godou's side on the ship.Namely, the large sport fisher's cabin. A familiar bird monster was casuallylanding on top of the ceiling.This was the divine eagle they had encountered a few days earlier. Thesudden gust of wind had been its doing!Godou quickly came to a conclusion. Was this divine eagle able to makeeffective use of some kind of cheating skill to teleport unannounced? Mostprobably not.Surely it was the Fire Goddess' doing — a spell cast by the unidentifieddeity.Part 3Spreading its wings with intense vigor, the divine eagle prepared to takeflight. Its massive wingspan measured fifteen meters.It flapped its wings forcefully. With the cabin firmly in the grip of its claws,the rest of the ship attached was at its mercy. Effortlessly as though theship's weight was no burden, the divine eagle floated upwards —By the time he noticed, Godou found himself and the entire ship alreadyflying in the air.Night had descended completely. Countless stars were twinkling in theblack canopy of the night sky.Different constellations were visible compared to back in Japan. Thistropical starlit sky was breathtaking in its beauty. The clear and bright halfmoon was also shining with white brilliance."Uh, we're getting this close to the clouds!?"Imperceptibly, they had already risen to quite a high altitude. Godoufrantically rushed over to the ship's edge and looked below.The sea was a long way down. Although this was comparable to the heightthat Liliana had flown him during the Saturnus incident, Godou completelydid not feel any sense of rapid ascent.The bird really was quite skilled at flying.Although Godou currently had nothing on him to secure himself, there wasno worry of tumbling off the ship to fall down from the sky.The divine eagle was flying with great stability, apparently taking care tokeep the deck level. Thanks to this, Godou did not even lose balanceonce.Godou gazed at the divine eagle gliding leisurely on its outspread wings.Its stately majesty as the king of birds could be felt from the divine eagle'sintrepid appearance, worthy of being called a sacred bird. Currently on theship's deck, Godou looked up to examine the state of the divine eagle thatwas holding the cabin in its claws.Although the divine eagle was in a completely defenseless posture with itsabdomen and throat exposed, one should not forget it was flying quitestably.It would take a bold move. Oh well, if he attacked despite the height, theworst that could happen would be crashing down together. Perhaps therewas no need to be wary..."Your Majesty!" "Godou-san!"Godou jumped in surprise to hear sudden voices calling him.Looking towards the opened cabin door, he found Yuri and Ena walkingout onto the deck. Come to think of it, these two were not seen wheneveryone else had fallen into the sea. So it was because they wereactually inside the ship!The two girls ran over to Godou's side."Let's summon Ama no Murakumo to give it a good slice — Never mind, Iguess we'd better endure the situation for now."The same idea must have crossed Ena's mind as well. She muttered andshrugged.Carrying the three passengers, the ship was transported by the divineeagle to the sky above the cove.Owing to the bright moonlight and excellent night vision, Godou was ableto clearly discern the island's geography even though it was night.A mangrove forest grew by the seaside. There were also tropicalrainforests which looked as though orangutans might roam inside.In addition the central mountain peak looked about seven or eight hundredmeters in height above sea level. The divine eagle was apparently flyingtowards this peak as the destination.Godou went "Hmm?" and frowned in response to the sudden change in thevegetation on the mountain. Strangely enough, these were deciduoustrees that grew on highlands. The tropical rainforest atmosphere was allgone.Of course, they were still in the tropics, but it was rather cool and breezy asa result of the elevation. However, the altitudes here should not be enoughfor highland vegetation to grow."As expected of an island inhabited by the gods. I can feel it. There is astrong divine presence on this sacred mountain. It must be quite anexcellent sanctuary.""Quite an intense sacred aura can be sensed from the peak. Perhaps thegoddess might be there."Ena, the sacred mountain specialist, reported. Yuri also gave warningthrough her sharp senses as usual.Godou turned his gaze downwards. Was it that place roughly seventy oreighty meters from the mountain slope?As much as he wanted to wait till they were nearer to the ground beforetaking action, delaying for that long might be too late. What should hedo — just as Godou agonized over the decision, the two Hime-Miko noddedto each other."Godou-san. Please let us handle this.""Don't worry, Ena will think of a way to deal with things. Ama noMurakumo, please!"Their words prompted Godou to make his decision. Nodding, he relaxedhis right arm.Immediately, the divine sword, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, suddenlymanifested in Ena's hand. With a three-foot-three-inch blade, its had thestructure of a curved Japanese sword. The blade was jet-black in color."O divine blade of Ama no Murakumo, bestow upon me the bow andarrows of honor!"Using spell words to invoke the divine sword's spirit for divine possession,Ena kicked hard against the deck.Then jumping like a monkey, she delivered a merciless diagonal overarmslash to the abdomen of the divine eagle that had been maintaining thesafety of this airborne journey.Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! The divine eagle cawed loudly in pain.Ena jumped again at this time, stabbing the divine sword into the bird'sright claw. Consequently, the divine eagle loosened its right claw's gripfrom the ship's cabin. Crash!The impact came. Unbalanced in the air, the ship was also losingsubstantial altitude and fast approaching the mountain slope. Even a divineeagle was unable to endure, finally loosening its left claw from the ship aswell. Thus, the large ship carrying Godou and the girls started free fallingtowards the ground!The mountain forest below was quite flourishing with trees. These couldact as a cushion to some extent but it would be naive to expect no injuriesfrom a crash landing like this.The fate awaiting the trio was going to be no different from a plane crashincident. However."Ameno Torifune, I pray to the god of the camphorwood ship, sturdy asstone, swift as a waterfowl!""Bestow upon us the fulfillment of safe passage!"The two Hime-Miko chanted spell words together.The ship's descent suddenly slowed down rapidly. Like a falling feather,the ship drifted lightly down from the sky, sliding gently along the mountainslope and into the deciduous forest.Although the speed of descent was reduced, the impact was still quitesubstantial.The trio fell over forward on the deck. The ship continued to slide along, itsmomentum showing no apparent signs of abating.Crash, clang, crunch, crunch. Terrifying noises rang out repeatedly.Various parts of the ship were smashing into things.Then the crash-landed ship finally came to a stop. Godou and the twoHime-Miko breathed a long sigh of relief together. At least the trio weresafe and sound.Among the three, Kusanagi Godou was the strongest and also held theleadership role.Standing up instantly out of a sense of responsibility, Godou looked up intothe sky.SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWKMThe divine eagle let loose an acute cry and flew off somewhere. Was it dueto pain from the wound Ena inflicted, or had it received orders to returnfrom its mistress the goddess? In any case, the current crisis seemed tohave passed.However, it was not yet time to relax completely.Yuri looked worried while Ena displayed nervous tension as the two girlsdrew near Godou.They were currently situated on this island of the demonic realm. Even if athorough investigation was conducted before they entered, unexpectedoccurrences were bound to appear.Surely, this was only the beginning of a truly troublesome situation.Godou's trio were not foolish enough to move about in the darkness ofnight.They intended to spend the night by the wrecked sports fisher, waiting untilmorning before beginning operations.This was the most prudent course of action in light of the current situation.Godou, Yuri and Ena agreed unanimously.Fortunately, they were well-stocked with food, mineral water and otherdrinks. Various equipment for exploring the island were also prepared.Using flashlights for illumination was not too inconvenient.The trio started a fire using a lighter and boiled some water.A simple and convenient dinner consisted of biscuits, instant coffee andMalaysian cup noodles."Come to think of it, Erica is the only one I know who never eats instantnoodles. What about you, Mariya?"During the Kisaragi incident, Godou had shared a dinner with Ena similarto the one tonight, consisting of instant and portable food.Then what about Yuri the quintessential high-class lady? It was a questionposed out of curiosity."I guess I have eaten it before. Although my mother hates that type of food,I used to eat it secretly with Ena-san on occasion... Fufu.""Well, the more people forbid us to eat it, the more we wish to try it out."Yuri smiled with slight mischief while Ena grinned like a fellow accomplice. Godou was glad to know they were already close friends from long ago.Watching the two girls' postures as they held the cup noodles, using thewooden chopsticks to pick up the noodles elegantly, Godou felt that theirexcellent upbringing was clear to see.Furthermore, due to the extremely cold mountain air, eating hot food feltespecially delicious.Rather than a drop in temperature due to nightfall, it felt more akin to asudden change of season from summer to winter.Godou was wearing a long-sleeved parka. Yuri and Ena were also dressedin long-sleeved athletic gear including tracksuits and windbreakers. Theseclothes were bought back at the city of Kota Kinabalu.Expecting the possibility of entering the mountains or tropical rainforests,the group had prepared long-sleeved clothes just in case."If only we could find a way to make contact with outside."Godou muttered as he gazed up at the vast starlit sky.Yuri and Ena had tried several different spells just now in an attempt tocontact Erica and Liliana. However, none of the spells could reach beyondthe island's exterior."Liliana-san's swimming abilities should be excellent as a witch so thereshouldn't be any danger even if she fell in the water. But it's a little worryingthat we can't confirm if they are safe.""Even my psychic sensing is not working."Ena commented and Yuri reported the result of her attempts."Reaching out from this mountain with psychic sensing to explore, Iencounter a massive obstruction along the way. It prevents me fromreaching out to anywhere farther."Using wizardry for communications or exploration did not seem to work.As late night arrived, the trio entered the ship and all slept in the cabin. Tofacilitate collective action in case of emergencies, they stayed together inone place.Then they decided to take turns in keeping watch.After all, there was already the precedent of the divine eagle appearinginstantaneously without warning.With the trio in high alert, perhaps they could prevent being caughtunaware again. It was best not to be careless. Taking turns in the order ofYuri, Godou then Ena, one person kept watch while the other two coveredthemselves with blankets and slept.The rest of the night went by peacefully on the island in the demonic realmand the next morning arrived.Taking care of breakfast through crude and simple food again, the triobegan to freshen up and get ready.Had this been a simple accident, waiting patiently for rescue would be anoption. But since their purpose here was to gather information about thismountain and island, there was no choice but to start acting on their plan.After spending some time to choose necessary items to carry along withthem, they stuffed them into their rucksacks.Along the way, Godou suddenly recalled something and asked:"Can't we transport this stuff effortlessly using that whatever spell Ericaand Liliana use to summon their swords?""That type of spell only works on objects within a sword's size and weight,so it does not help in a situation like this.""Last time at Nikkou, we also tried spells to move our luggage, but just likeinvestigative magic, it didn't work either..."In the end, all they could determine was that the situation left little room foroptimism.In any case, once preparations were complete, the trio began to hike."Oh yeah, come to think of it, it's January 1 today!""Indeed! I am a bit worried, is Hikari's work at Nanao Shrine goingsmoothly? Although she is quite reliable in general, as a miko she is still anapprentice...""As the saying goes, New Year's Day is the time to plan for the incomingyear. I can't believe I'd run into this kind of commotion today."Godou continued to move forward as he confirmed today's date.Being used to hiking, Ena took the lead with Yuri following and Godouholding the rear.Under the bright illumination of daylight, they surveyed the surroundingtrees.A deciduous forest. Sunlight streamed between the leaves to producescattering patterns of radiance, combining with the blowing wind to createa glittering world of golden brilliance. The breeze blowing between thetrees was truly cool and refreshing. It was like taking an autumn stroll in aEuropean forest."But isn't this a tropical zone located near the equator...""It's getting difficult to distinguish the seasons now...""This is clear evidence of the fact that this is no ordinary island..."While confirming the suspicious nature of the island as they walkedthrough the forest, Yuri suddenly went "Ah" softly.Was this a sign of spirit vision? This prompted Godou to ready his posturebut very soon he realized the reason. The surrounding scenery wastransforming imperceptibly!A forest without any roads. While pushing vegetation aside, they hadwalked roughly thirty minutes through the same forest.That was clearly supposed to be the situation. But without them noticing,the positions, shapes and arrangements of the surrounding trees hadchanged greatly. Baffled, Godou wondered if they were lost."Hmm... The sun's direction seems different from just now."Ena frowned and looked up into the sky.A deciduous forest. Sunlight streamed between the leaves to producescattering patterns of radiance, combining with the blowing wind to createa glittering world of golden brilliance — This was no longer the case.Compared to before, the leaves and branches of the trees grew moredensely, making conditions quite dim despite the daylight hours. There wasno longer a cool and refreshing impression."We seem to have entered a totally different place."After murmuring, Yuri suddenly began to search her rucksack.She took out a compass. Rather than pointing north, the needle rotatedslowly as if undecided over which direction was north."One of those so-called forests of wandering huh...""Not just the forest but the entire island also gives off the same feeling,Your Majesty."Ena's predictions were completely on target.After walking for ten-odd minutes, their location changed without theirknowledge.From forest to deep forest. From deep forest to the edge of vertical cliffs.From cliffs to a valley. Then from the bottom of a valley to a corner of theforest."...This time, we wandered off to quite a scenic location."After walking for two hours or so, Godou muttered.Advancing through the forest, they now chanced upon a small waterfall.Cool, clear water was flowing down the waterfall, pooling into a flowingstream.Due to all the nonstop walking, Yuri with her low stamina was exhausted.Thinking that, Godou decided to let her rest here for a while. As he turnedhis gaze, he found Ena gesturing to him with her eyes. The hiking expertwas thinking the same thing. Godou nodded."Let's have a break here. It so happens that there's also water nearby."After Godou announced, Ena approached the stream. Bringing her faceclose to the water surface, she sniffed its scent.Then after she dipped a fingertip into the water and licked it with hertongue, the Hime-Miko of the Sword declared:"Yes, this water is drinkable.""I didn't know you could do that as well."Godou laughed wryly but indeed it was uplifting news.With a long journey ahead, it was uncertain how long their water wouldlast. A refill was needed badly. Meanwhile, Ena took out an aluminum mugfrom her rucksack. Filling it with water, she brought it to Yuri.The marching so far seemed like it was merely a casual stroll for theHime-Miko. Her footsteps remained quick and nimble."Ah... Thank you."Thanking Ena, Yuri gulped down the water and smiled.This was a slightly forced smile that one would make to lessen the worriesof others. Just as Godou expected, resting here was a correct decision."No matter what, spinning around alike this isn't making progress..."Godou muttered and reached his hand into the stream. The refreshingcoldness of the water felt rather comfortable.Their current situation was no different from being thwarted on every front.Although battling gods had become an everyday activity for Godou, adesperate situation of this sort was something new...Seeing Godou stare blankly at the waterfall, Yuri leaned forward.She gazed in the direction towards where the stream flowed. Ena askedher fellow Hime-Miko:"Did you see something, Yuri? If it's okay, tell us.""Ah yes. I feel like the path to escaping our predicament should lie in thedirection ahead.""Speaking of which, the people who escaped the island were those whoreturned by sea. The direction the stream flows is towards th ocean, thisdoes make sense in a way."After Godou nodded, Yuri suddenly shuddered.A white aura rose up from her body. This was the aura of psychic sensing.Following the direction of the stream's flow, the aura advanced, making itsway forward, forward nonstop. Yuri nodded emphatically."Indeed it is so. If I apply my sensing abilities downstream, I should be ableto use my power!"Her report greatly shocked Godou. Ena immediately yelled out:"Well done, Yuri! What do you sense right now?""Yes, this river converges with larger rivers and continues flowing down themountain — finally pouring into the sea. After entering the ocean, I can usemy powers freely without restriction — "Yuri closed her eyes and concentrated as she explained.Seas and rivers — "water" was apparently the key to breaking through thisdemonic realm.Godou nodded and remembered. The island's mistress had called herselfthe Fire Goddess. Fire's weakness lay in water. Perhaps this might berelated."!? Erica-san and Liliana-san are over there! They are traveling on a boatin the sea!"Yuri called out happily. This important news interrupted Godou'spensiveness.Part 4Godou found out that Erica and Liliana were arriving on anengine-powered boat.It was a fisherman's boat intended for fishing alone. It looked like they hadstopped the engine and were currently drifting on the sea near the island.In fact, Yuri was using psychic sensing to send out thought waves forconversing with them...In this manner, Yuri's sensing powers established communicationsbetween this corner in the demonic realm and the boat out on the sea.Continuing to keep her eyes closed, Yuri extended her slender anddelicate hands into the stream. This projected images of Erica and Lilianaonto the surface of the flowing water.These were said to be the images captured visually by the Hime-Miko'spsychic sensing powers.The two Caucasian girls, one blonde and one silver-haired, were dressedin t-shirts with light jackets. Under the dazzling sunlight of the South Seas,they were surrounded by clear blue seawater.A scene from the ocean, completely different from Godou's situation in themountains, was projected on the stream's surface.'After falling into the sea, we gathered up all the crew who were swimmingin the water and flew back to Kota Kinabalu using Liliana's flight magic.Everyone is safe and sound.'Erica recounted what had happened after the divine eagle appeared.Apparently they had not met any danger.'This morning, we took a bigger fishing vessel out to sea again andreturned to the island's vicinity. However, the crew were afraid ofapproaching the island...''We had the ship wait a certain distance away on standby as a mothership.''Erica and I borrowed a boat and came here. We are currently investigatingthe island in various ways.'Liliana entered the conversation to report on the situation. As a side note,neither of them possessed a boat license. Nevertheless, Erica hadborrowed the boat using the reason 'Maybe I'll handle it. Isn't it supposedto be a piece of cake?'Despite the engine, a boat was simply another means of transportationafter all. Learning by emulating others was easy enough.Erica appeared to be quite proficient. Oh well, since Liliana was presentand able to use flight magic, there was presumably little chance of being indistress.'I was thinking everyone must surely be alive. And it turns out just aspredicted.'"l-lgnoring the matter of my survival, do show a little worry for Mariya andSeishuuin, okay?"Self-conscious about his own ridiculous ability to survive, Godoucomplained on behalf of his two female companions. Erica responded"Leaving that aside..." and began to ask about the the situation on theisland.Godou explained concisely. Then Liliana spoke up.This happened last night. After returning to the city of Kota Kinabalu, wetried interviewing a man who had fortunately survived and returned fromthe island in the past.'During the time from last night till now, the two knights had apparentlymade the most of every moment.Truly astute. As Godou listened admiringly, Erica continued:This is what he said. After going around in circles on the island, hebecame despondent. In the end, he took an inflatable boat he happened tobe carrying and rowed desperately downstream. Although he had alreadyresigned himself to death, somehow he was able to return to the ocean.'Rafting. This was the sport of navigating white water rapids.Attempting that kind of activity on this island was surely quite dangerous.Godou was deeply impressed."Escaping unscathed to the ocean huh..."'Apparently it was thanks to his favorite hobby of competitive kayaking. Inany case, it looks like we'll just have to follow the water's guidance.''If this goddess controls flames, then water is precisely the substance forsealing her power.'Godou nodded in agreement with Erica and Liliana's advice.'I have already confirmed, flight magic can only reach as far as the beachon the island. If possible, please make your way there then we should beable to instantly converge with you three.''Gathering everyone together is our first priority. If possible, it would bebest to avoid combat.'The above was the content of the discussion Godou had with the twoknights from afar.As the brief conversation ended, the images on the stream alsodisappeared.Having focused her attention all this time, Yuri opened her eyes, turnedtowards Ena, who had acted as a listener throughout, and nodded.It was off to a start again.Following a river downhill was said to be taboo in situations of outdoorsurvival.Rivers and streams flowing in mountainous terrain were particularly proneto flash floods. Were it to rain, the water volume could swell instantly,sweeping everyone into the river. Due to the looseness of the soil, therealso existed the possibility of accidentally falling into the river.Furthermore, despite being the interior of a suspicious demonic realm, thiswas a tropical zone after all.One could not help but worry about the sudden arrival of fierce wind andheavy rain — localized rainstorms. The Borneo region was currently inmonsoon season and sudden showers frequently occurred during the timefrom afternoon until night.However, Godou and Yuri were currently accompanied by their companionEna, the child of nature.Trusting in the girl who was capable of sensing incoming rain by smell,they intentionally committed the taboo act with full awareness.As if proving the correctness of the Hime-Miko's spirit powers, advancingalong the flowing steam brought them to an unfamiliar location.The group was walking on fine gravel along the side of the stream.Stones of various sizes were scattered all over the ground. Occasionally,they had to make their way over large boulders or step into the stream,immersing themselves up to knee-level in order to advance.Given this situation, the various levels of physical stamina in the membersof the group were brought into full view.Ena was like a fish in water. With motions as agile as a monkey, she keptmoving forward.By herself, she could probably traverse such difficult terrain effortlessly.But of course, she was not going to do that. She was mainly preoccupiedwith assisting her childhood friend who lacked physical stamina.Yuri panted heavily as she climbed the boulders while Ena backed her up.When walking in the rapids, the trio had their waists tied together by ropeto prevent Yuri from slipping and getting washed away. Ena led the way."Oh I am truly sorry for being such a hindrance to you all..."Yuri apologized with dejection as she made her way arduously.Naturally, no one else thought that apart from her. No matter what, Yuriwas the true guide of the group, the indispensable compass.In fact, there were times when the shores of the river were vertical cliffs.Unable to follow the riverbank, they were forced to take a detour, leavingthe river and advancing by listening to sounds of water. However, due tothe labyrinth's effects, they somehow became lost in the forest.Just as Godou panicked, thinking they were in a bad situation..."Please go that way."Following the direction Yuri indicated resolutely with her finger, they wereable to get back to the stream.For Yuri's sake, Godou would stop for quick breaks from time to time.Given his physical stamina, this level of exertion was completely not aproblem. He also had outdoor experience before.In this manner, they traveled for roughly three hours.Glancing at his watch, Godou found the time to be approaching 2pm.Godou felt that Yuri's stamina was almost at her limits. Her eyes wanderingin a daze, her footsteps were weak and unsteady. Whenever anyonespoke to her, she would be startled before attempting to respond. Seeingher forcing herself to smile was heartbreaking."Let's rest around here for an hour or two."Although they had been taking breaks every once in a while, it seemed likeit was time for a longer period of rest.After Godou made his announcement, Yuri immediately showed anexpression of relief."U-Understood... Then I shall sit down for a bit over there..."Yuri walked unsteadily over to the shade under some trees.But she fell down along the way. Godou and Ena immediately hurried overto help her up and laid her leaning against a tree.She most likely collapsed from exhaustion. Resting against the tree trunk,Yuri fell asleep with audible breathing noises."Making you suffer so much of this hardship because of me, I'm reallysorry...""Oh well, Yuri is enduring hardship for the sake of fulfilling Your Majesty'sexpectations."While Godou apologized as he gazed at the peaceful sleeping face of thesheltered young lady, Ena commented with a smile.This sort of answer from the Seishuuin family's eldest daughter revealed aglimpse of her true nature. Above being a modern high school girl, she wasfirst and foremost a highborn Yamato Nadeshiko hailing from a prestigiousfamily steeped in warrior traditions."But it looks like it'll take at least three days to reach the sea if we keepmoving at this pace. Ena and Your Majesty can just make it, but Yuriprobably can't endure to the end.""You're right. I guess we really have to try that method..."Godou paced about as he contemplated the idea.Then he turned to look at the stream that fulfilled the role of a guideline.In terms of caloric consumption, the idea was vastly superior to marchingon land. However, the dangers involved were likely twenty times greater ormore. Furthermore, they did not have the necessary equipment."Your Majesty is so amazing. To think you've got an idea already. What isit?""Yeah, didn't Erica and Liliana mention already? There was someone whoused rafting to get out to sea. But if amateurs like us with no experiencetried it, we'll definitely capsize along the way. Besides, without an inflatableboat or oars, we can't even attempt the challenge."In addition, trying to build a wooden boat would require substantial skill andtools.Precisely due to these reasons, Godou had abandoned this idea whichhad zero chance of realization. However, Ena began to ponder in earnestafter hearing it."Seishuuin? This really isn't going to work. There's no need to ponder it soseriously.""No, although there are many problems in the details... It's not impossible.So long as Ena and Yuri make the most of our spells, it should still work."What!? Godou was greatly surprised by this unforeseen answer."Rather than getting cornered without any options because of worryingabout risk, it's better to commit to an attempt. But as expected of YourMajesty, Ena couldn't possibly have thought up an idea like that!"The Hime-Miko of the Sword remarked cheerfully with a smile of praise."I'm sorry, I completely don't understand what part of my idea is worthy ofyour praise.""No no, Ena always shows admiration for anyone who could come up witheven more ridiculous ideas. Besides, Your Majesty is a person who notonly has ideas but also puts them into action.""Now that you put it this way, I don't feel like I'm being praised..."With a subtle feeling, Godou put down his rucksack and began torummage through his luggage.Yuri would probably want to have some light snacks once she woke up.Godou readied his equipment in preparation for that.On the other hand, Ena made a childish expression as if about to engagein mischief.Taking a knife, she slowly cut down branches from the trees growing onthe riverbank. Then gathering the fallen branches, she took out varioustools from her rucksack." JV'Ena hummed as she engrossed herself in the unknown task.Finishing preparations for outdoor cooking (which was not much to speakof), Godou waited leisurely for Yuri to wake up and Ena to finish her task.Forty minutes passed. With great satisfaction, Ena placed the finishedobject into her pocket.A little while after that, Yuri woke up and began to survey the riverbanksurroundings with a sleepy gaze.Godou got ready.Ena took out a bottle of natural stream water on which the words"wonderfully delicious" were written on it. The water was poured into astainless steel pot they were carrying. Then Godou took out a small-sizedgas stove to boil it.Once the water boiled in the pot, some of it was poured into threealuminum mugs.Then instant coffee and sugar from stick-shaped sachets were added andstirred. The sugar portion was especially generous.After that, Godou added bag-packaged instant noodles to the boiling waterin the pot.While waiting for the noodles to cook, Godou called Yuri and Ena over."Fufu. This is so sweet and very tasty too."Scalded slightly by the temperature of the aluminum mug's brim, Yuri wasdrinking her coffee in a cherishing manner.She smiled radiantly. In actual fact, people would find sugar particularlytasty after exhausting themselves on a long walk. This was due to thebody's desire for energy replenishment."Say, Seishuuin, what were you doing just now?""Hmm, something I made just in case. I'll explain later."Seeing Ena busy eating her noodles, Godou decided to pursue the matterlater.He was quite hungry too. Godou wolfed down the noodles together withthe salty broth. On the other hand, Yuri was gracefully eating her noodleswith a satisfied expression.Renourished, the trio cleared up efficiently.Godou still had no intention of setting off immediately. Although theyneeded to hurry on their way, it would be placing the cart before the horseif this caused Yuri to collapse again. Let's rest a little while longer — Godouthought to himself.However, before he could give voice to his thoughts, he suddenly sensedthe approach of a situation that rendered his sentence moot.A great noise was heard. It was the type of noise produced from treesfalling over left and right, trampled by the approach of some kind ofgigantic entity.Ena stood up and gathered her concentration, directing her focused gazetowards the noise.Surprised, Yuri also did the same as her fellow miko.Then the figure entered Godou's field of vision.A giant, roughly fourteen or fifteen meters tall. Musclebound all over. Sinceall he wore was a loincloth, his extraordinarily developed muscles wereclear to see.And he was one-eyed. Instead of two eyeballs, he only possessed one.A one-eyed giant. According to Greek mythology, this would be a cyclops.Appearing before Godou's group was a new minion of the goddess.Part 5The cyclops looked down at Godou's trio from above, making a violentsnort.He seemed quite excited. It would come as no surprise if he suddenlyattacked. Responding to Ena's consent-seeking gaze, Godou passed Amano Murakumo no Tsurugi's usage rights to her.Then the jet-black divine blade suddenly manifested in the hand of theHime-Miko of the Sword in a display of steel might.As Ena prepared to approach and attack the cyclops in one fell swoop,Godou gestured to her to stand down.There was not much point in skirmishing here against an enemy of merelydivine beast class. The mastermind was somewhere else. Godou lookedtowards the expansive sky behind the cyclops."In any case, you must be watching this! Stop sending these subordinatesand come down yourself!"Godou called out to the goddess who should be somewhere behind herminion's back.The response came instantly. Dazzling light descended from the sky,glittering as brilliantly as sunlight reflecting off the surface of water.Countless lights gathered together.This dazzling brightness swirled in a vortex resembling a galaxy anddescended next to the cyclops.'Fufufufu. I cannot but answer your summons, my dear. My most belovedgod-slayer!'The goddess' voice came from the vortex of light floating in midair.Godou could feel his body and mind overflowing with combat power andrising emotion. Although she still concealed her appearance, her true bodywas definitely present. Then a familiar cawing was heard.SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWK!The divine eagle flew from the distant sky. The wounds Ena inflictedseemed to have healed completely.With the divine eagle gathered with the cyclops, the opposing side'sformation was ready."What the heck do you mean by 'most beloved'... You won't even talk tome face to face."'We can casually enjoy that kind of activity later.'The goddess replied to Godou's grumbling in an inexplicably adorable toneof voice.'Ufufu. In my view, a man must first possess a strong body and heroicmettle in order to become mine. My dear, by my eyes of a goddess', I cantell you are my type of man. How about it, accept these loving feelings andagree to my invitation, yes?'"What invitation? Is it going to be... Twisting my arms and legs off again,right?"Despite the annoyance Godou was feeling, he still continued to converse:"If you plan to take me by force, we'll simply have to resist. But I don'treally want to engage in violence. Why don't you give up on me andcontinue living your life quietly?"As a believer in pacifism, Godou tried his best to propose calmly.However, the goddess in her vortex of light form did not answer. Insteadshe seemed to giving off an impression as though she was smiling"fufufufu..." Godou sighed.Just as Amakasu pointed out, this goddess really did seem to have stalkercharacteristics.In that case, Godou had no choice but to respond accordingly. He firstasked:"Who made this island? Was it you or Alexandre Gascoigne?"'Ah, what a truly nostalgic name. Speaking of which, he is also agod-slayer of the present generation. Fufufufu, so it turns out that you twoknow each other!'A correct guess. Godou had mentioned Alec's name simply as a test, but itturned out to be right on target.Having gotten a lead, Godou nodded. But then the goddess' next wordscaused him to go "Eh?" in great surprise.'Just as you suggested, this island is something I created to reminisce theage of myths, using the divine artifact given to me by him — His HighnessAlexandre, as proof of love. This isolated island, as a goddess' territory,shall become the love nest for Kusanagi-sama and I!'"P-Proof of love!?""Given by Prince Alec!?"Yuri and Ena were simultaneously dumbstruck by the shocking news.However, the goddess did not elaborate further on this topic. Instead, herdazzling brightness intensified compared to before.In response to the light, the divine eagle suddenly cried out.SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWKMEven the cyclops began to yell sonorously in accord.UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!The savage divine minion stomped his feet. He seemed like he was all toeager to start "twisting off" Godou's arms and legs. In that case, theappropriate choice would be —"For victory, hasten forth before me... O Immortal Sun, I beseech thee togrant radiance to the stallion!"Pulling out a trump card suddenly, Godou invoked his greatest firepower,the [White Stallion].This Fire Goddess had apparently caused all sorts of commotions over thepast few years. This was enough to satisfy the condition of "a great sinnerwho had caused suffering to the people."Obtaining victory in this manner would be best. Even if the enemy was notdefeated, at least a certain matter could be confirmed —Believing thus, Godou summoned a second sun into the eastern sky fromwhere spears of white light were released to descend upon the earth.Godou intended to engulf the vortex of light that stood as the goddess'incarnation.'O light of dawn, offer up to me the shield of gold!'However, the goddess chanted spell words as if operating underpre-established harmony.^As her facade, the vortex of light spread itself out like a canopy to block the[White Stallion].In the past, Marquis Voban had used the sun god Apollo's authority todevour these flames. This time, they were absorbed by the goddess'glittering radiance!"An existence capable of devouring light must necessarily harbor lightwithin as well, I see..."Godou recalled Yuri's oracle from the past.Just as he thought, this Fire Goddess was also a sun deity. Godou turnedhis gaze towards the Hime-Miko beside him. However, Yuri shook herhead with a sad expression.She was still unable to discern the goddess' true identity.This meant they could not rely on the [Sword]. Without that weapon,fighting an enemy in command of a myriad of divine powers would be quitechallenging..."Your Majesty. Let's take Erica-san's advice and make a run for it as soonas we find an opportunity."Godou nodded in agreement with Ena's suggestion.Having finished shooting flames, the sun in the eastern sky disappeared.In its place, the divine eagle attacked from the sky while the cyclops on theground raised his fist to pummel Godou!Ena instantly sprang into action. Performing a horizontal sweep with herpartner of steel, she called out."Night descends with pitch-black darkness at Makimuku's... Rising soundsof the river herald a raging storm.A storm's spell words. With Susanoo's spiritual presence residing in theHime-Miko's body, divine possession was invoked.Instantly transformed into a heaven-sent child of the winds, Ena raisedAma no Murakumo no Tsurugi up high and swung, releasing a slicingvacuum from the jet-black blade. Her target was naturally the incomingdivine eagle in flight.Exhibiting its superb flying skills, the divine eagle evaded the vacuumblade by ascending with breathtaking speed.However, Ena swung Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi in response. Thevacuum blade instantly changed its trajectory to pursue the escaped divineeagle.Ena was employing a flying projectile for the purpose of severing theenemy's wings.Meanwhile, the cyclops' fist descended like an iron hammer —Godou blocked with both arms. Naturally, he was using the incarnation ofthe [Bull]. Since his opponent was the one-eyed giant, he might as well usethe incarnation of peerless might."Daaaaah!"Godou grabbed the cyclops' fist and swung hard.Employing the same principle as used in the track and field event ofhammer throwing, 180cm tall Godou was able to launch the 15m cyclopsinto the air.It was truly ridiculous to the extreme.With a shocked expression, the one-eyed giant fell among the trees in theforest. Naturally, this could not have inflicted a critical injury. Nevertheless,it bought time for Godou to summon his next source of battle power."The one unblunted and unapproachable! Oath-breaking sinners bepurged by the iron hammer of justice!"After an interval of mere days, he summoned the [Boar] again.Within the blink of an eye, the pitch black flames manifesting in midairtransformed into a beast and descended on the ground.This time, there were two targets — the cyclops and the divine eagle.Although this was supposed to be a troublesome task, the [Boar] seemeddelighted instead and cried out with joy.00000000000000000000000000This was the new power Godou had learned about not too long ago. Thepreparation prior to releasing super Shockwaves.This groaning was about to turn into the most powerful artillery.Immediately...ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAyLike last time, the [Boar] suddenly released a Shockwave from its mouth.The Shockwave blew away the stately body of the divine eagle.Godou had learned his lesson from last time. The flying king of birds was atroublesome enemy capable of taking a "firebird" form. By focusing ondefeating it first, he could then handle the enemies on the ground.Thus he ordered the [Boar] to roar heartily and release a great Shockwave.Even the divine eagle was unable to evade. Blown away by a direct hit, itcrumbled into dust and disappeared.Nevertheless, the cyclops stood up once again during this time.The one-eyed giant raised its arm towards the sky. Next, dark cloudsgathered densely in the sky and released lightning. The zigzagging lightingstruck the [Boar]'s gigantic body.ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAR!The [Boar] howled in pain. However, Ena had already started running whilethis was happening.Running swiftly like a wolf, she swiftly took care of the cyclops, landing aslice on his right shin. A full powered cut performed with Ama noMurakumo no Tsurugi. Even the one-eyed giant was unable to enduresuch an attack and fell backwards.Ena sliced again. This time, she aimed at the left shin.The [Boar] charged mercilessly at the unbalanced enemy whose legs wereboth injured by slicing wounds.ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!Ramming at full power with its head, the [Boar] stabbed its two tusks,sharp as swords, into the enemy's belly. Then withdrawing its tusks, itslammed with its body again.The cyclops was sent flying like a rag.Lying on the ground, the giant was on his last breath. Landing a decisiveblow at this moment was probably no challenge at all.However, Godou suddenly realized with surprise. Compared to the battleat Kimigahama, the divine eagle and giant were rather fragile. Last time,the Fire Goddess had clearly injected power into her minions to powerthem up.Why did she not do so this time?'Indeed you are ferocious and brave... Now that is the hero worthy of myattentions, Kusanagi-sama!'Hovering in the sky, the vortex of light murmured.The princess goddess' voice seemed to be filled with absolute confidenceand calm. Godou began to tremble without reason. His Campione instinctshad sensed danger and was warning him!'In that case, I shall not be stingy. Come, you girls, demons of the wind!Hum for the terrifying Devil King the song held in reserve, one he cannothear!'A song of spell words. Godou instantly raised his magical power.If the enemy was using magic, he should raise his magical power as highas he could to deflect it. This was a technique commonly seen in battlesbetween gods and god-slayers.In one breath, Godou heightened in his body the magical power belongingto a Campione.Everything was all set — That was what one would normally expect.Nevertheless, Godou had a strange feeling, as if some "foreign body" hadentered his body...?'Fufufu. Faced against a god-slayer accustomed to battle, quite a lot ofspells cannot take much of an effect. Hence I used the blowing wind tocarry a spell in an attempt to send it into your body's interior. Rathersuccessfully, apparently.'Did the goddess achieve a similar effect as what normally required oralintake!?Godou was greatly shocked. Had he known about this, he surely wouldhave tried to resist. But now it was too late. Much too late.What kind of spell had been cast on his body — ?Trembling, Godou saw a change occurring before his eyes. A great manygeometric patterns appeared in the sky, tracing out a glowing magic circle.Then the goddess chanted:'Come. Before a beautiful goddess, sharp swords are unnecessary, arethey not? Violent spears and arrows for shooting prey are likewise useless.Shed your armor, throw down your shield, come to my side!'Instantly, the [Boar] disappeared from Godou's sight. In its stead, a stylized[Boar] emblem manifested in the magic circle in the sky."...Stolen, huh?"Godou muttered in shock as he gradually understood.The spell just now had stolen Verethragna's incarnation. He attempted totransmit commands to the [Boar] but there was no response. He could nolonger feel the divine beast's existence at all!'O great and valiant hero, hurry over to my side!'The goddess proceeded to chant further.Godou could sense something else being taken from within his body.Immediately, the magic circle in the sky displayed emblems of a horse anda bull. The [White Stallion] and the [Bull] were also taken."Godou-san! If this continues, all the incarnations will be stolen!"Yuri suddenly yelled out beside him, her face full of worry."Please try your hardest to resist the goddess' spell! Hurry!"This urgent command was completely unlike the gentle YamatoNadeshiko.Nevertheless, this was due to the current desperate situation. Godouraised his magical power again.Silently, he recited Verethagna's scripture in his mind with great force. I amthe strongest, holding all victory in my hands. Man and devil, all enemies,all who harbor enmity will be vanquished!Singlemindedly focused on defeating the foreign object in his body, heconcentrated his thoughts on breaking the goddess' spell.However, during this time —More emblems continued to appear in the magic circle.The patterns swirled like a tornado. Next were the goat, the ram, theraptor — Defeat was imminent if this continued!"Damn it. Is everything going to be stolen!?"Yelling from the bottom of his lungs, Godou summoned all his magicalpower to drive out the invisible enemy.Then Godou finally sensed the disappearance of the rampant magic withinhis body."Of the ten incarnations... Only three remain, huh."Seven emblems were glowing in the magic circle in the sky.Left within Godou's body were the three incarnations of the [Camel], the[Youth] and the [Warrior]. All the rest had been stolen."She possesses the power to capture heroes and enslave them. Being aglorious hero god, Verethragna has been ensnared by her powerfulqualities as a femme fatale...""What a troublesome ability to handle..."Hearing Yuri's oracle, Ena muttered in shock.Her reaction was perfectly reasonable. Faced with a completelyunforeseen attack, even Godou was completely stunned.'Fufufufu. Kusanagi-sama, you should give up. Be my captive — this impliesbecoming a goddess' lover, you know? Let us get along in harmony toenjoy eternal love? Cultivating romance between a goddess and agod-slayer should prove to be most amusing!'Godou's only remaining weapons were Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi andthree incarnations.But in the current situation, both the [Youth] and the [Warrior] could not beused. Godou was also highly doubtful of the [Camel]'s usefulness indealing with a goddess who used magic.Godou felt himself being cornered into desperation.'Come, Kusanagi-sama. Please come to my side.'Up until this point, the goddess had taken the form of a swirling vortex oflight.This glittering brilliance changed in form to take on human appearance. Awoman's silhouette as slender as a juniper. Then her height expanded toroughly five meters.Reaching out with her slender arms, she intended to capture him.Damn it! I can't just do nothing to resist!? A savage grin appeared onGodou's face involuntarily. Just as he prepared to struggle to the bitterend —"I won't let you have His Majesty! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"With a vigorous yell, the Hime-Miko of the Sword swung Ama noMurakumo no Tsurugi in a slash.Infused with Susanoo's divine presence, the divine sword severed thegoddess' arm at the elbow!'Kyaaaaaaaaaah!'The goddess screamed, causing Godou to jump in surprise.The goddess' silhouette form dissipated and reformed as the vortex oflight. Rising up into the gray sky covered by dense thunderclouds, itseemed like she was fleeing from Ena and Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi.To think the sword slash just now could display such might against a[Heretic God]—As Godou was overcome with surprise, the vortex of light entered thecluster of thunderclouds.Next, the dark clouds covering the sky kept releasing lightning and startedto attack their location.Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!Every time lightning struck the ground, rumbling thunder was producedwith great impact.While avoiding this place, the goddess seemed to be firing off lightningstrikes nonstop. Thunder rumbled continuously without pause.The lightning had yet to strike the trio of Godou, Yuri and Ena. However, itwas going to happen sooner or later.If they continued to stay here, they would probably be burnt to a crisp bylightning in a matter of minutes. Just at this moment —"Your Majesty... The thing mentioned earlier is already prepared. Ena isready any time you want."The Hime-Miko of the Sword murmured softly.The thing mentioned earlier, could it be that!? Godou looked at the streamand turned his gaze back at Ena. She responded with a fearless smile.They were really going to do that!?Godou could barely contain his surprise but he nodded deeply at the sametime.Indeed, that was the only way to seek an escape route. He instantly madehis decision. Since Ena said it could be done, he would trust in and leavethings to her. However —Kusanagi Godou had one more companion. What about her?"...Mariya. I have a very ridiculous idea. I am very sorry for asking you toaccompany me in my recklessness, but could you please accompany me?"Godou called out as he watched the stream.Yuri went "Eh?" with surprise and followed Godou's gaze. Then she turnedto look at her childhood friend Ena's expression, only to see her gazing atthe flowing stream. Apparently garnering an understanding of whateverything meant, Yuri's expression stiffened.But then her expression change immediately. With a dignified expressionworthy of her "Hime" title, Yuri nodded as she leaned close to Godou andspoke:"I am coming too. Godou-san, please take me along!""Yuri, accompanied by the two of us, His Majesty must be sent to a safeplace. Naturally, we will stay together till the very end. Are you ready?"Ena also came to Godou's side. Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi hadalready disappeard from her hand, returning to within Godou's body.Yuri nodded with a resolute expression in response to her childhoodfriend's inquiry."Great. As soon as Ena uses the spell, we'll all ride on it. Then just keepcasting all the protective, disaster warding and anti-drowning spells youcan think of and we'll be fine!"As the Hime-Miko yelled, thunder rumbled overhead.Using this as an impromptu signal, the trio of Godou, Yuri and Ena alljumped into the stream —References1 . t Malaysian burger: a reference to the Ramlyburger.http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramly_Burger2. t Pre-established harmony: a reference to Leibniz's Monadologywhich theorizes that all substances (including minds and bodies)casually interact with one another because God programmed harmonyin advance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-established_harmony3. t Poem #1 101 of the Man'youshuu.

Chapter 4 - Call From the Demonic RealmPart 1December 31 , New Year's Eve.Japanese citizens considered it a great event marking the changeover to anew year.Nevertheless, on this commemorative day, Kusanagi Godou was currentlyexposed under the sun. This was intense sunlight one would absolutely notfind on the islands of Japan during winter.Scorching sun. Air filled with heat and humidity. The familiar taste ofmidsummer.The city of Tokyo was approximately 35 degrees in latitude. Shifting southfrom there by roughly 30 degrees, Godou's current location was practicallyon the equator.Geographically speaking, this was Borneo's northern shore, a city calledKota Kinabalu located in Malaysian territory."I never imagined I'd spend New Year's in a place like this..."Godou muttered with deep feeling.Kota Kinabalu was the largest city in the region.This ocean-facing city contained beautiful beaches. Resort hotels could befound everywhere.Godou was currently situated downtown where quite a few shoppingcenters and food courts were concentrated. It was a crowded andprosperous place."It feels nothing like New Year's Eve here.""It feels strange for me. Ever since childhood, this is the first time I am notbusy with miko duties this time of the year..."Yuri commented from beside Godou with a slightly concerned expression.It was currently after 2pm and the group was taking a short break at anopen-air cafe.Godou ordered iced coffee while Yuri had iced milk tea. In this tropicalzone where the weather was like summer all year round, it was onlynatural to thirst for iced drinks.There was one more item on the bill. Fresh avocado juice with condensedmilk.This viscous drink, thick enough for a straw to stand upright in the middle,was of course Erica's order."Indeed, only someone like Godou would be visited by troublesomematters all the time."The discussion held with Amakasu at the Cape Inubou hotel occurred twodays ago.After Godou declared a direct assault on the enemy's stronghold, theHistory Compilation Committee member immediately set about gatheringinformation.While that was proceeding, Godou and his companions returned to Tokyoand prepared to travel overseas.Once everything was ready, they boarded a flight late at night onDecember 30.After a night's sleep on the plane, they landed in Singapore in the morning.Then taking a connecting flight from there, they arrived today — the morningof December 31 , at this city of Kota Kinabalu.In Godou's company were the four girls, Erica, Yuri, Liliana and Ena.The one who organized this trip was surprisingly the girl known as the[Diavolo Rosso]."The History Compilation Committee is simply an organization controlling asingle country — Japan, without branch outposts or influence in foreignlands... Hence, this time they are 'backing us up but not officially,' actingentirely as sponsors who happen to be on site."Shaking the light green juice as she drank, Erica explained."But even for you, the [Copper Black Cross] doesn't have brancheseverywhere, right?""Not everywhere, but the [Copper Black Cross] happens to havepermanent staff posted here. This provides the credibility for us to beintroduced to a local person of influence. Since the [Heretic God] has beencausing them hardship, they are greatly looking forward to Devil KingKusanagi Godou's arrival.""W-What Devil King's arrival, it's not supposed to be like that..."Godou's face twitched in response to hearing Erica's way of phrasingthings."By the way, Erica-san. What kind of person is this person of influence?"Taking a sip of her iced milk tea, Yuri inquired.Erica had selected Yuri as one of the people accompanying Godou ontheir visit to the local person of influence. "Because Yuri's power isprobably needed" was her explanation."I heard that this country has neither an organization like Japan's HistoryCompilation Committee nor large scale associations like the ones inEurope... But among the commonfolk there are those who live by fortunetelling and wizardry.""Indeed it seems to be so."Erica nodded and continued:"In this part of Southeast Asia, there aren't any intelligence agencies orassociations with outstanding power and influence. But you see, wouldn'tformer yakuza or mafia have quite a bit of prestige and influence in a placelike this?""Y-Yaku— !?""Come to think of it, that feels like a pretty good description of Yinghua'sfamily...""Yes, Hong Kong's Lu family is a classic example of cartel operations inSoutheast Asia and other places. A gathering of proudly competent talent,spellcasters and even the poor, using them to operate various legal andillegal enterprises."The trio conversed in these matters as the drinks slaked their thirst. Thenthey left the cafe.Godou was dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and hemp cargo pants whichhe had not worn for quite some time ever since the weather cooled.Erica had a red camisole and ankle-length black pants. Yuri, on the otherhand, was wearing a refreshing one-piece dress in white.Leaving from Japan in midwinter, they were plunged into a land of summerheat all at once.Although it was a little sudden, the hot weather felt quite nostalgic aftermonths of absence. Indeed, there was an unexpected sense of freshnessand delight.Furthermore, Liliana and Ena had gone out shopping for this "expedition."Indeed, the streets of Kota Kinabalu was not their final destination. Thiswas merely a place along the way.Godou and Yuri followed Erica as she walked. Along the way, the skysuddenly gave rise to a downpour of rain. A shower brought by a squall.As expected of a tropical zone. Apparently, chances of sudden showerswere quite high during the afternoon.The trio frantically sought shelter in a food court.After buying food to one's liking from a row of food vendors, one could sitdown and eat at an empty table. This type of sheltered food court wasquite common throughout the city of Kota Kinabalu."It really rains quite heavily here."The pitter-patter of raindrops striking the rooftops and road surface wasquite intense.Godou's clothes were completely drenched. Nevertheless, this unexpectedinconvenience was actually enjoyable, for it offered the experience of aclimate and culture completely different from Japan's. A very real sense ofconcreteness."Anyway, since the weather is so hot, our clothes will dry soon enough..."Carrying this sort of joyful mood, Godou turned to his two femalecompanions only to be rendered speechless.Erica and Yuri were dressed in flimsy summer clothing. Due to beingdrenched by the sudden rain, their clothes now clung tightly to their bodies.Consequently, their bodies' lines of curvature became particular clear toview.Furthermore, Yuri's one-piece dress was white. Even her drenchedunderwear was visible beneath her dress —"G-Godou-san. Could you please stop staring like that?!""Oh my, what a rare act of initiative. Does this stem from the liberatingfeeling of traveling overseas?"Reacting to the girls' comments, Godou frantically turned his gaze away.While Godou focused on directing his gaze elsewhere until the girls'clothes dried, the trio strolled around the food court that provided shelterfrom the rain.Seeing all sorts of food displayed at the food stands, Erica narrowed hereyes."Just as I thought, Asian places like this are the top choice for a chaoticculinary experience. Although Japan is a country of comfort, it hasn't livedup to my expectations in the area of food."A bunch of total nonsense.But Godou could understand. He could tell from a single glance. This wasindeed the type of place Erica would enjoy.Representative of Malay cuisine was the spicy fried rice dish of nasigoreng, made with chicken resembling yakitori meat and a sauce preparedfrom peanuts and coconut milk. That could be considered the basics. Thenthere was the Malaysian burger containing a hamburger patty wrapped inan omelette.^ This type of food could be considered the applied version ofMalay cuisine.Chinese cuisine prepared by ethnic Chinese also added much variety andcolor to the offerings.There were also Indian curry shops as well as all sorts of global fast foodchains, etc.There were even seafood shops where one picked fish from a tank to bebarbecued. Furthermore, tropical fruit varieties were sold, such as the kingof fruits, the pungent durian.Other than pork which was conspicuously absent in Islamic areas, this wastruly the place for a chaotic culinary experience."It'd be nice to look for and have a fill of food to my liking...""Let's not eat now since we have an appointment later. How about we waituntil dinnertime, okay?"Stopping Erica, Godou gave Yuri a glance to seek her agreement.To his great surprise, the Yamato Nadeshiko was unexpectedly staring at afood stand with great interest."Mariya... Could it be, you're hungry?""Ah, no. Not at all. I am just curious."Yuri answered shyly as she looked back."In the past when traveling in Vietnam with my family, I only tried noodlesfrom this kind of shop once. Thinking back, the food was really quitedelicious. Fufu, I remember we were eating it on the go.""In that case, Yuri, you may count on me, Erica Blandelli."The blonde devil winked at the sheltered young lady who was smilingcalmly."Back when I was in Hong Kong, I ate at stands like these every singleday.""Really!? If I may, then I shall count on you!""Indeed. That looks about right, undoubtedly so."Godou began to smile wryly in response to Erica and Yuri's enthusiasm,seemingly sharing some sort of strange motivation.Despite being clearly well-educated girls, they did not seem particularlybothered by these vendors' hygiene."Erica aside, I never knew that Mariya had quite a strong-willed side toher.""M-Me, do I really seem strong-willed to you?"Yuri murmured while smiling with a slightly delighted expression.Godou's careless comment seemed to have pleased the dignified YamatoNadeshiko. While Godou was baffled by the reason, Erica mockedsarcastically."What an idiot you are, Godou. Getting along with someone like Godouwould surely require Yuri to harbor a resolute will of iron somewhere in thedepths of her heart. It's something one would acquire and develop afterstaying by your side for so long.""1-1 see..."Recalling his various instances of unruly conduct, Godou expressedunderstanding while Yuri smiled wryly with a troubled expression.While they conversed on a variety of topics, the rain had stopped beforethey knew it. The sky was clear and sunny once more.Due to the rain just now, the air temperature had cooled somewhat, givinga cooler refreshing feeling. Godou and Yuri continued to follow Erica,making their way to a certain market.In actual fact, they had already visited this place once already beforetaking the break at the open-air cafe.At the time, it was simply an empty clearing. But now, an hour later, tentshad been raised all over the place, with little stands and open-air stallslined in rows side by side.Everyday sundries, vegetables, fruits and various wares were being sold.However, most eye-catching of all was the seafood. There were not onlyspecies commonly sold in Tokyo such as horse mackerel, Spanishmackerel, barracuda, squid, but also colorful fishes unique to the SouthSeas like the yellowback fusilier.Glancing at these shops as they made their way, Erica finally stoppedbefore a certain tent.This was a vendor selling everyday sundries. In the depths of the storewas a petite old lady, dressed modestly in a white shirt with a black skirt.She had the lightly tanned skin tones of ethnic Malays. Alone by herself,she was sitting in a folding chair.Based on appearance, she seemed like a friendly "old granny."However, she was actually the "person of influence" that Erica hadmentioned earlier. So she was the fortune teller and wizard who acted asthe leader of pickpockets, thieves and pirates in the area?"Your Majesty, arriving from distant lands, a cordial welcome to you."The influential old lady greeted Godou using broken English.Then she clapped her hands together and bowed slowly towards Godou asone would pay respects to a Buddha statue.Part 2Two days earlier at Cape Inubou, Amakasu was explaining about thedivine beasts' stronghold.The South Seas is a region of the ocean containing over a hundredislands of various sizes, located west of the Philippines and northwest ofBorneo. These islands came in all sorts, with some uninhabited, some withresort hotels built on them, while some housed military installations of thevarious surrounding countries."Amakasu sighed as he spoke.'Reportedly, on the largest uninhabited island of them all, mysterious giantcreatures suddenly appeared several days ago... Yes, those two divinebeasts, the snake and the strange bird that came all the way over to Japanlast night to cause a commotion."'They are already confirmed to have returned to the island in the SouthChina Sea after their defeat at Kusanagi-san's hands. It really reminds meof those monster movies from the Shouwa era, this monster islandappearing in Southeast Asian seas...'Although the tone of Amakasu's report was frivolous, there was little jokingin the content.Hence, Godou and his group traveled to Kota Kinabalu to deal with theproblematic island. Using this city as a staging ground, they firstinvestigated the island's state of affairs —And now in a Kota Kinabalu market, they were currently meeting arepresentative of the local wizardry scene."We cannot express our utmost gratitude well enough for Your Majesty'sexpress visit...""D-Don't mention it. I intend to investigate the island's situation to get a clear idea first."Godou began to get flustered because the influential old lady kept bowingrepeatedly with her hands together to show her gratitude.Rather than a king, it was more like being treated as a Buddha. This wasquite a difference in treatment compared to other people Godou hadencountered who were involved in the field."I will prepare ships immediately. But our utmost apologies... Though theisland surfaced three years ago, we know very little about it..."As the old lady explained in an unhurried fashion, Godou was baffled bythe mentioning of "three years.""Oh my, it was on a certain day three years ago, when that island hadsurfaced on the sea by the time we noticed. It was a place that wasoriginally empty sea. Thus abruptly did it appear. The island has mountainsand forests. For such a rather normal-looking island to suddenly emerge,the fishermen, the pirates and the navy were all greatly surprised."Godou threw a glance at his companion. Erica nodded in response.She apparently knew already but had kept it to herself for some reason."And the very strange thing was, once anyone lands on the island, theycould not get out...""Not get out?""According to our members who have set foot on the island, they naturallygot lost in the middle of walking around. Then for a good many days, theywere disoriented along their way to the beach. Only the lucky onesreached the ship to return from the island..."Godou recalled someone he knew.Why would that guy be involved in this incident — ? He looked at Ericaagain to find her with an expression as if she wanted to say something."Indeed this is the case" was what she seemed to be saying."It is an island that did not exist in this country before. Hence, no localsailor will approach it. Only people like us are privy to this knowledge..."This island was not recorded on any maps or marine atlases, huh. AsGodou nodded, the old lady put her hands together again and knelt inworship."We would be most grateful if Your Majesty could be so kind as to head tothe island for a look. Please, we are counting on you.""Granny, may we have a look at the object?"Erica interjected."The object... Ah yes, the thing that drifted to a nearby beach three yearsago, shortly after the island appeared. I believe it should be related tosome particular god..."The old lady stood up and began to search a wooden box behind her.She took a slender rod-shaped stone, roughly a meter in length, its girthjust barely small enough to grasp in one hand. Its uneven surface was jetblack like obsidian.Godou could feel faint magical power emanating from the black stone.Some kind of power resided in it apparently.As soon as she looked at the stone, Yuri shuddered."Did you see something, Yuri? This object could be a divine artifact, soplease try to appraise it. Perhaps this might be a decisive clue?""V-Very well. This is—"Asked by Erica, the Hime-Miko spoke an oracle solemnly."Using the divine artifact of creation, the mother created land out of theprimordial sea, summoning freshwater, nurturing lush vegetation... Wehave already seen a similar item before."Yuri deliberately added the last sentence, for apparently the same doubthad crossed her mind.Yes. Last time, there was also a mysterious island that suddenly appearedin the sea. All who entered the island were disoriented by the magicalpower of a labyrinth. Furthermore, the island was created using the allegednation-founding divine artifact that appeared in the form of a small tool —Godou nodded, Erica crossed her arms, while Yuri looked worried.Surely the trio must have recalled the same image.Two hours later, Godou and his group were out at sea.The tropical ocean was dyed bright orange by the glow of the setting sun.A large sport fisher was speeding nimbly across the sea. More accurately,it should be called a sunset cruise.This was the ship prepared by the old lady at the market for Godou'sgroup.Equipped with showers and air conditioning, the ship's spacious cabin waslike the living room of a house. There were even two rooms with cots. Thiswas a large ship used for living out at sea for days to enjoy the pleasuresof fishing.— The waters of the mysterious island were located not far from KotaKinabalu.Supposed to be reached before night, it meant they should be able toobserve the island's situation from afar before daylight ended. It would beideal if the deity incident could be resolved before it expanded in scale. Forthis purpose, the trio converged with Liliana and Ena then proceeded toboard this ship.Sailors from the old lady's subordinates were in charge of operating theship.Presently, Godou and his friends were holding a strategy conference in thecabin.Seated, Liliana Kranjcar opened the discussion with a gloomy expression:"This is simply speculation. Although there exist 'reasons for thinking so,' Ithink subjecting a certain person to allegations would be jumping toconclusions. Nevertheless, I shall still proceed with this thought."She was dressed in casual clothing with a blue lacy blouse and blackshorts. Even so, Liliana spoke like a knight in a rigorous tone."I believe England's Black Prince is very likely related to this incident."Possessing the labyrinth authority, Alexandre Gascoigne was involved inthe past incident of the Heavenly Reverse Halberd and the floating island.As expected, Liliana was thinking of that commotion. It was only natural.Everyone thought so too. After all, even Ena exclaimed with deep feelingdespite her optimistic personality."It's that saying, right? As suspicious as being caught with your hand in thecookie jar."Definitely suspicious no matter what. Godou voiced his agreement with thepossibility and nodded.Also, Seishuuin Ena had finally changed out of her usual uniform afterleaving Japan. She was currently dressed in a short-sleeved parka withcargo pants, a style common to men in summer.The supplies Liliana and Ena had bought at the market during the daywere currently left in a corner of the cabin. The cardboard box was stuffedfull of equipment, clothing and food, etc. They had simply picked upanything they thought might be useful for exploring an uninhabited island inthe South Seas."Think about it, that guy used rather elaborate methods when he causedthe Tokyo Bay commotion. He was also quite clear on how to use a divineartifact like the Heavenly Reverse Halberd...""Because he had an opportunity to test out a similar plan before... This isquite possible."Godou muttered and Erica concurred.This was a conversation that could easily veer into slander with one falsestep. The only one who abstained from participating was Yuri, who listenedto everyone with a troubled expression. But perhaps she was simply bornnaturally polite.On occasion she would go "Indeed..." and nod in agreement. She did notdisplay any intention of objecting."So currently, where is that Gascoigne guy anyway?""Unknown as usual. But earlier, there were reports of him in Spain."As Godou wondered, Erica answered immediately, fully prepared asexpected."Well, it's not like he'll answer honestly even if we ask him directly. Let'scontinue to investigate step by step..."While they chatted, the ship successfully arrived near the problematicisland.They were about to reach the destination, the Indian sailors reported.Godou and his group stopped their discussion and walked out onto thedeck which offered an expansive view of the South China Sea illuminatedby the evening glow of the sunset.Were this a sightseeing trip, this scenery would definitely be quite moving.However, the "island" ten-odd kilometers ahead was the lair where thosesuspicious divine beasts resided. Moreover, anyone entering arbitrarilywould be imprisoned by the labyrinth's power. This was literally a demonicrealm.It was definitely no small island, given its substantial visible area.Rather tall elevations in the center of the island could be seen from the seaafar. A rough estimate would place the altitude as comparable to ordinarymountains. The island was covered with trees, offering a lush green view.The ship cruised straight forward, landing on the island at a cove thatresembled an entrance."It's bigger than I imagined..."Muttering to himself, Godou suddenly realized."Speaking of which, how long do Gascoigne's labyrinths last for? Left herefor three years already, it can still be sustained?""Assuming Prince Alec is absent from the island, the magical effectsshould start dissipating after roughly three or four months.""From then on, the magical effects will gradually weaken all over thelabyrinth. This is recorded in the Witenagemot's reports."Erica and Liliana answered, highly knowledgeable."Then it isn't really that guy...? It's hard to imagine a busy guy like himcoming here regularly.""Conversely, assuming he is going that far, this might be quite an importantlocation?""Alternatively, some kind of spell or divine artifact may have been used toextend the duration of his authority's effects."From the swiftness of the counterarguments, the moral failings of theperson in question were clear to see.Oh well, this was all due to the deplorable nature of his habitual behavior...In any case, the plan was set to begin investigating and scouting out theisland tonight. Although Godou was not much help in this regard, the girlswere a separate case altogether. Liliana's witchcraft and Yuri's exceptionalspirit vision were especially sure to produce results.Hence everyone began to make preparations on the ship....They definitely could not afford to be careless.Godou and Ena were both very sensitive to danger given their keen,beast-like instincts. Erica and Liliana were also on watch in full alert.Furthermore, Yuri was present with her incomparably sharp spiritualsenses.Nevertheless, in spite of all that, no one was able to detect the imminentarrival of the incoming attack.— An astounding gust of wind suddenly swept across the ship's deck.Completely caught unprepared, the ship's sailors and even Erica andLiliana were blown away by the wind. With a series of splashing noisessounding from the night sea after the sun had set, all of them fell into thewater.The only one unaffected was Godou who was left standing alone on deck.It was no natural wind. Most likely supernatural wind produced throughmagic and divine powers, hence a Campione's body was unaffected —"Godou!" "Kusanagi Godou!"Erica and Liliana's voices were heard from the sea beyond the ship.Sounds of the crew's screams suggested that everyone were unharmed.Instead, the place of danger was actually Godou's side on the ship.Namely, the large sport fisher's cabin. A familiar bird monster was casuallylanding on top of the ceiling.This was the divine eagle they had encountered a few days earlier. Thesudden gust of wind had been its doing!Godou quickly came to a conclusion. Was this divine eagle able to makeeffective use of some kind of cheating skill to teleport unannounced? Mostprobably not.Surely it was the Fire Goddess' doing — a spell cast by the unidentifieddeity.Part 3Spreading its wings with intense vigor, the divine eagle prepared to takeflight. Its massive wingspan measured fifteen meters.It flapped its wings forcefully. With the cabin firmly in the grip of its claws,the rest of the ship attached was at its mercy. Effortlessly as though theship's weight was no burden, the divine eagle floated upwards —By the time he noticed, Godou found himself and the entire ship alreadyflying in the air.Night had descended completely. Countless stars were twinkling in theblack canopy of the night sky.Different constellations were visible compared to back in Japan. Thistropical starlit sky was breathtaking in its beauty. The clear and bright halfmoon was also shining with white brilliance."Uh, we're getting this close to the clouds!?"Imperceptibly, they had already risen to quite a high altitude. Godoufrantically rushed over to the ship's edge and looked below.The sea was a long way down. Although this was comparable to the heightthat Liliana had flown him during the Saturnus incident, Godou completelydid not feel any sense of rapid ascent.The bird really was quite skilled at flying.Although Godou currently had nothing on him to secure himself, there wasno worry of tumbling off the ship to fall down from the sky.The divine eagle was flying with great stability, apparently taking care tokeep the deck level. Thanks to this, Godou did not even lose balanceonce.Godou gazed at the divine eagle gliding leisurely on its outspread wings.Its stately majesty as the king of birds could be felt from the divine eagle'sintrepid appearance, worthy of being called a sacred bird. Currently on theship's deck, Godou looked up to examine the state of the divine eagle thatwas holding the cabin in its claws.Although the divine eagle was in a completely defenseless posture with itsabdomen and throat exposed, one should not forget it was flying quitestably.It would take a bold move. Oh well, if he attacked despite the height, theworst that could happen would be crashing down together. Perhaps therewas no need to be wary..."Your Majesty!" "Godou-san!"Godou jumped in surprise to hear sudden voices calling him.Looking towards the opened cabin door, he found Yuri and Ena walkingout onto the deck. Come to think of it, these two were not seen wheneveryone else had fallen into the sea. So it was because they wereactually inside the ship!The two girls ran over to Godou's side."Let's summon Ama no Murakumo to give it a good slice — Never mind, Iguess we'd better endure the situation for now."The same idea must have crossed Ena's mind as well. She muttered andshrugged.Carrying the three passengers, the ship was transported by the divineeagle to the sky above the cove.Owing to the bright moonlight and excellent night vision, Godou was ableto clearly discern the island's geography even though it was night.A mangrove forest grew by the seaside. There were also tropicalrainforests which looked as though orangutans might roam inside.In addition the central mountain peak looked about seven or eight hundredmeters in height above sea level. The divine eagle was apparently flyingtowards this peak as the destination.Godou went "Hmm?" and frowned in response to the sudden change in thevegetation on the mountain. Strangely enough, these were deciduoustrees that grew on highlands. The tropical rainforest atmosphere was allgone.Of course, they were still in the tropics, but it was rather cool and breezy asa result of the elevation. However, the altitudes here should not be enoughfor highland vegetation to grow."As expected of an island inhabited by the gods. I can feel it. There is astrong divine presence on this sacred mountain. It must be quite anexcellent sanctuary.""Quite an intense sacred aura can be sensed from the peak. Perhaps thegoddess might be there."Ena, the sacred mountain specialist, reported. Yuri also gave warningthrough her sharp senses as usual.Godou turned his gaze downwards. Was it that place roughly seventy oreighty meters from the mountain slope?As much as he wanted to wait till they were nearer to the ground beforetaking action, delaying for that long might be too late. What should hedo — just as Godou agonized over the decision, the two Hime-Miko noddedto each other."Godou-san. Please let us handle this.""Don't worry, Ena will think of a way to deal with things. Ama noMurakumo, please!"Their words prompted Godou to make his decision. Nodding, he relaxedhis right arm.Immediately, the divine sword, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, suddenlymanifested in Ena's hand. With a three-foot-three-inch blade, its had thestructure of a curved Japanese sword. The blade was jet-black in color."O divine blade of Ama no Murakumo, bestow upon me the bow andarrows of honor!"Using spell words to invoke the divine sword's spirit for divine possession,Ena kicked hard against the deck.Then jumping like a monkey, she delivered a merciless diagonal overarmslash to the abdomen of the divine eagle that had been maintaining thesafety of this airborne journey.Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! The divine eagle cawed loudly in pain.Ena jumped again at this time, stabbing the divine sword into the bird'sright claw. Consequently, the divine eagle loosened its right claw's gripfrom the ship's cabin. Crash!The impact came. Unbalanced in the air, the ship was also losingsubstantial altitude and fast approaching the mountain slope. Even a divineeagle was unable to endure, finally loosening its left claw from the ship aswell. Thus, the large ship carrying Godou and the girls started free fallingtowards the ground!The mountain forest below was quite flourishing with trees. These couldact as a cushion to some extent but it would be naive to expect no injuriesfrom a crash landing like this.The fate awaiting the trio was going to be no different from a plane crashincident. However."Ameno Torifune, I pray to the god of the camphorwood ship, sturdy asstone, swift as a waterfowl!""Bestow upon us the fulfillment of safe passage!"The two Hime-Miko chanted spell words together.The ship's descent suddenly slowed down rapidly. Like a falling feather,the ship drifted lightly down from the sky, sliding gently along the mountainslope and into the deciduous forest.Although the speed of descent was reduced, the impact was still quitesubstantial.The trio fell over forward on the deck. The ship continued to slide along, itsmomentum showing no apparent signs of abating.Crash, clang, crunch, crunch. Terrifying noises rang out repeatedly.Various parts of the ship were smashing into things.Then the crash-landed ship finally came to a stop. Godou and the twoHime-Miko breathed a long sigh of relief together. At least the trio weresafe and sound.Among the three, Kusanagi Godou was the strongest and also held theleadership role.Standing up instantly out of a sense of responsibility, Godou looked up intothe sky.SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWKMThe divine eagle let loose an acute cry and flew off somewhere. Was it dueto pain from the wound Ena inflicted, or had it received orders to returnfrom its mistress the goddess? In any case, the current crisis seemed tohave passed.However, it was not yet time to relax completely.Yuri looked worried while Ena displayed nervous tension as the two girlsdrew near Godou.They were currently situated on this island of the demonic realm. Even if athorough investigation was conducted before they entered, unexpectedoccurrences were bound to appear.Surely, this was only the beginning of a truly troublesome situation.Godou's trio were not foolish enough to move about in the darkness ofnight.They intended to spend the night by the wrecked sports fisher, waiting untilmorning before beginning operations.This was the most prudent course of action in light of the current situation.Godou, Yuri and Ena agreed unanimously.Fortunately, they were well-stocked with food, mineral water and otherdrinks. Various equipment for exploring the island were also prepared.Using flashlights for illumination was not too inconvenient.The trio started a fire using a lighter and boiled some water.A simple and convenient dinner consisted of biscuits, instant coffee andMalaysian cup noodles."Come to think of it, Erica is the only one I know who never eats instantnoodles. What about you, Mariya?"During the Kisaragi incident, Godou had shared a dinner with Ena similarto the one tonight, consisting of instant and portable food.Then what about Yuri the quintessential high-class lady? It was a questionposed out of curiosity."I guess I have eaten it before. Although my mother hates that type of food,I used to eat it secretly with Ena-san on occasion... Fufu.""Well, the more people forbid us to eat it, the more we wish to try it out."Yuri smiled with slight mischief while Ena grinned like a fellow accomplice.Godou was glad to know they were already close friends from long ago.Watching the two girls' postures as they held the cup noodles, using thewooden chopsticks to pick up the noodles elegantly, Godou felt that theirexcellent upbringing was clear to see.Furthermore, due to the extremely cold mountain air, eating hot food feltespecially delicious.Rather than a drop in temperature due to nightfall, it felt more akin to asudden change of season from summer to winter.Godou was wearing a long-sleeved parka. Yuri and Ena were also dressedin long-sleeved athletic gear including tracksuits and windbreakers. Theseclothes were bought back at the city of Kota Kinabalu.Expecting the possibility of entering the mountains or tropical rainforests,the group had prepared long-sleeved clothes just in case."If only we could find a way to make contact with outside."Godou muttered as he gazed up at the vast starlit sky.Yuri and Ena had tried several different spells just now in an attempt tocontact Erica and Liliana. However, none of the spells could reach beyondthe island's exterior."Liliana-san's swimming abilities should be excellent as a witch so thereshouldn't be any danger even if she fell in the water. But it's a little worryingthat we can't confirm if they are safe.""Even my psychic sensing is not working."Ena commented and Yuri reported the result of her attempts."Reaching out from this mountain with psychic sensing to explore, Iencounter a massive obstruction along the way. It prevents me fromreaching out to anywhere farther."Using wizardry for communications or exploration did not seem to work.As late night arrived, the trio entered the ship and all slept in the cabin. Tofacilitate collective action in case of emergencies, they stayed together inone place.Then they decided to take turns in keeping watch.After all, there was already the precedent of the divine eagle appearinginstantaneously without warning.With the trio in high alert, perhaps they could prevent being caughtunaware again. It was best not to be careless. Taking turns in the order ofYuri, Godou then Ena, one person kept watch while the other two coveredthemselves with blankets and slept.The rest of the night went by peacefully on the island in the demonic realmand the next morning arrived.Taking care of breakfast through crude and simple food again, the triobegan to freshen up and get ready.Had this been a simple accident, waiting patiently for rescue would be anoption. But since their purpose here was to gather information about thismountain and island, there was no choice but to start acting on their plan.After spending some time to choose necessary items to carry along withthem, they stuffed them into their rucksacks.Along the way, Godou suddenly recalled something and asked:"Can't we transport this stuff effortlessly using that whatever spell Ericaand Liliana use to summon their swords?""That type of spell only works on objects within a sword's size and weight,so it does not help in a situation like this.""Last time at Nikkou, we also tried spells to move our luggage, but just likeinvestigative magic, it didn't work either..."In the end, all they could determine was that the situation left little room foroptimism.In any case, once preparations were complete, the trio began to hike."Oh yeah, come to think of it, it's January 1 today!""Indeed! I am a bit worried, is Hikari's work at Nanao Shrine goingsmoothly? Although she is quite reliable in general, as a miko she is still anapprentice...""As the saying goes, New Year's Day is the time to plan for the incomingyear. I can't believe I'd run into this kind of commotion today."Godou continued to move forward as he confirmed today's date.Being used to hiking, Ena took the lead with Yuri following and Godouholding the rear.Under the bright illumination of daylight, they surveyed the surroundingtrees.A deciduous forest. Sunlight streamed between the leaves to producescattering patterns of radiance, combining with the blowing wind to createa glittering world of golden brilliance. The breeze blowing between thetrees was truly cool and refreshing. It was like taking an autumn stroll in aEuropean forest."But isn't this a tropical zone located near the equator...""It's getting difficult to distinguish the seasons now...""This is clear evidence of the fact that this is no ordinary island..."While confirming the suspicious nature of the island as they walkedthrough the forest, Yuri suddenly went "Ah" softly.Was this a sign of spirit vision? This prompted Godou to ready his posturebut very soon he realized the reason. The surrounding scenery wastransforming imperceptibly!A forest without any roads. While pushing vegetation aside, they hadwalked roughly thirty minutes through the same forest.That was clearly supposed to be the situation. But without them noticing,the positions, shapes and arrangements of the surrounding trees hadchanged greatly. Baffled, Godou wondered if they were lost."Hmm... The sun's direction seems different from just now."Ena frowned and looked up into the sky.A deciduous forest. Sunlight streamed between the leaves to producescattering patterns of radiance, combining with the blowing wind to createa glittering world of golden brilliance — This was no longer the case.Compared to before, the leaves and branches of the trees grew moredensely, making conditions quite dim despite the daylight hours. There wasno longer a cool and refreshing impression."We seem to have entered a totally different place."After murmuring, Yuri suddenly began to search her rucksack.She took out a compass. Rather than pointing north, the needle rotatedslowly as if undecided over which direction was north."One of those so-called forests of wandering huh...""Not just the forest but the entire island also gives off the same feeling,Your Majesty."Ena's predictions were completely on target.After walking for ten-odd minutes, their location changed without theirknowledge.From forest to deep forest. From deep forest to the edge of vertical cliffs.From cliffs to a valley. Then from the bottom of a valley to a corner of theforest."...This time, we wandered off to quite a scenic location."After walking for two hours or so, Godou muttered.Advancing through the forest, they now chanced upon a small waterfall.Cool, clear water was flowing down the waterfall, pooling into a flowingstream.Due to all the nonstop walking, Yuri with her low stamina was exhausted.Thinking that, Godou decided to let her rest here for a while. As he turnedhis gaze, he found Ena gesturing to him with her eyes. The hiking expertwas thinking the same thing. Godou nodded."Let's have a break here. It so happens that there's also water nearby."After Godou announced, Ena approached the stream. Bringing her faceclose to the water surface, she sniffed its scent.Then after she dipped a fingertip into the water and licked it with hertongue, the Hime-Miko of the Sword declared:"Yes, this water is drinkable.""I didn't know you could do that as well."Godou laughed wryly but indeed it was uplifting news.With a long journey ahead, it was uncertain how long their water wouldlast. A refill was needed badly. Meanwhile, Ena took out an aluminum mugfrom her rucksack. Filling it with water, she brought it to Yuri.The marching so far seemed like it was merely a casual stroll for theHime-Miko. Her footsteps remained quick and nimble."Ah... Thank you."Thanking Ena, Yuri gulped down the water and smiled.This was a slightly forced smile that one would make to lessen the worriesof others. Just as Godou expected, resting here was a correct decision."No matter what, spinning around alike this isn't making progress..."Godou muttered and reached his hand into the stream. The refreshingcoldness of the water felt rather comfortable.Their current situation was no different from being thwarted on every front.Although battling gods had become an everyday activity for Godou, adesperate situation of this sort was something new...Seeing Godou stare blankly at the waterfall, Yuri leaned forward.She gazed in the direction towards where the stream flowed. Ena askedher fellow Hime-Miko:"Did you see something, Yuri? If it's okay, tell us.""Ah yes. I feel like the path to escaping our predicament should lie in thedirection ahead.""Speaking of which, the people who escaped the island were those whoreturned by sea. The direction the stream flows is towards th ocean, thisdoes make sense in a way."After Godou nodded, Yuri suddenly shuddered.A white aura rose up from her body. This was the aura of psychic sensing.Following the direction of the stream's flow, the aura advanced, making itsway forward, forward nonstop. Yuri nodded emphatically."Indeed it is so. If I apply my sensing abilities downstream, I should be ableto use my power!"Her report greatly shocked Godou. Ena immediately yelled out:"Well done, Yuri! What do you sense right now?""Yes, this river converges with larger rivers and continues flowing down themountain — finally pouring into the sea. After entering the ocean, I can usemy powers freely without restriction — "Yuri closed her eyes and concentrated as she explained.Seas and rivers — "water" was apparently the key to breaking through thisdemonic realm.Godou nodded and remembered. The island's mistress had called herselfthe Fire Goddess. Fire's weakness lay in water. Perhaps this might berelated."!? Erica-san and Liliana-san are over there! They are traveling on a boatin the sea!"Yuri called out happily. This important news interrupted Godou'spensiveness.Part 4Godou found out that Erica and Liliana were arriving on anengine-powered boat.It was a fisherman's boat intended for fishing alone. It looked like they hadstopped the engine and were currently drifting on the sea near the island.In fact, Yuri was using psychic sensing to send out thought waves forconversing with them...In this manner, Yuri's sensing powers established communicationsbetween this corner in the demonic realm and the boat out on the sea.Continuing to keep her eyes closed, Yuri extended her slender anddelicate hands into the stream. This projected images of Erica and Lilianaonto the surface of the flowing water.These were said to be the images captured visually by the Hime-Miko'spsychic sensing powers.The two Caucasian girls, one blonde and one silver-haired, were dressedin t-shirts with light jackets. Under the dazzling sunlight of the South Seas,they were surrounded by clear blue seawater.A scene from the ocean, completely different from Godou's situation in themountains, was projected on the stream's surface.'After falling into the sea, we gathered up all the crew who were swimmingin the water and flew back to Kota Kinabalu using Liliana's flight magic.Everyone is safe and sound.'Erica recounted what had happened after the divine eagle appeared.Apparently they had not met any danger.'This morning, we took a bigger fishing vessel out to sea again andreturned to the island's vicinity. However, the crew were afraid ofapproaching the island...''We had the ship wait a certain distance away on standby as a mothership.''Erica and I borrowed a boat and came here. We are currently investigatingthe island in various ways.'Liliana entered the conversation to report on the situation. As a side note,neither of them possessed a boat license. Nevertheless, Erica hadborrowed the boat using the reason 'Maybe I'll handle it. Isn't it supposedto be a piece of cake?'Despite the engine, a boat was simply another means of transportationafter all. Learning by emulating others was easy enough.Erica appeared to be quite proficient. Oh well, since Liliana was presentand able to use flight magic, there was presumably little chance of being indistress.'I was thinking everyone must surely be alive. And it turns out just aspredicted.'"l-lgnoring the matter of my survival, do show a little worry for Mariya andSeishuuin, okay?"Self-conscious about his own ridiculous ability to survive, Godoucomplained on behalf of his two female companions. Erica responded"Leaving that aside..." and began to ask about the the situation on theisland.Godou explained concisely. Then Liliana spoke up.This happened last night. After returning to the city of Kota Kinabalu, wetried interviewing a man who had fortunately survived and returned fromthe island in the past.'During the time from last night till now, the two knights had apparentlymade the most of every moment.Truly astute. As Godou listened admiringly, Erica continued:This is what he said. After going around in circles on the island, hebecame despondent. In the end, he took an inflatable boat he happened tobe carrying and rowed desperately downstream. Although he had alreadyresigned himself to death, somehow he was able to return to the ocean.'Rafting. This was the sport of navigating white water rapids.Attempting that kind of activity on this island was surely quite dangerous.Godou was deeply impressed."Escaping unscathed to the ocean huh..."'Apparently it was thanks to his favorite hobby of competitive kayaking. Inany case, it looks like we'll just have to follow the water's guidance.''If this goddess controls flames, then water is precisely the substance forsealing her power.'Godou nodded in agreement with Erica and Liliana's advice.'I have already confirmed, flight magic can only reach as far as the beachon the island. If possible, please make your way there then we should beable to instantly converge with you three.''Gathering everyone together is our first priority. If possible, it would bebest to avoid combat.'The above was the content of the discussion Godou had with the twoknights from afar.As the brief conversation ended, the images on the stream alsodisappeared.Having focused her attention all this time, Yuri opened her eyes, turnedtowards Ena, who had acted as a listener throughout, and nodded.It was off to a start again.Following a river downhill was said to be taboo in situations of outdoorsurvival.Rivers and streams flowing in mountainous terrain were particularly proneto flash floods. Were it to rain, the water volume could swell instantly,sweeping everyone into the river. Due to the looseness of the soil, therealso existed the possibility of accidentally falling into the river.Furthermore, despite being the interior of a suspicious demonic realm, thiswas a tropical zone after all.One could not help but worry about the sudden arrival of fierce wind andheavy rain — localized rainstorms. The Borneo region was currently inmonsoon season and sudden showers frequently occurred during the timefrom afternoon until night.However, Godou and Yuri were currently accompanied by their companionEna, the child of nature.Trusting in the girl who was capable of sensing incoming rain by smell,they intentionally committed the taboo act with full awareness.As if proving the correctness of the Hime-Miko's spirit powers, advancingalong the flowing steam brought them to an unfamiliar location.The group was walking on fine gravel along the side of the stream.Stones of various sizes were scattered all over the ground. Occasionally,they had to make their way over large boulders or step into the stream,immersing themselves up to knee-level in order to advance.Given this situation, the various levels of physical stamina in the membersof the group were brought into full view.Ena was like a fish in water. With motions as agile as a monkey, she keptmoving forward.By herself, she could probably traverse such difficult terrain effortlessly.But of course, she was not going to do that. She was mainly preoccupiedwith assisting her childhood friend who lacked physical stamina.Yuri panted heavily as she climbed the boulders while Ena backed her up.When walking in the rapids, the trio had their waists tied together by ropeto prevent Yuri from slipping and getting washed away. Ena led the way."Oh I am truly sorry for being such a hindrance to you all..."Yuri apologized with dejection as she made her way arduously.Naturally, no one else thought that apart from her. No matter what, Yuriwas the true guide of the group, the indispensable compass.In fact, there were times when the shores of the river were vertical cliffs.Unable to follow the riverbank, they were forced to take a detour, leavingthe river and advancing by listening to sounds of water. However, due tothe labyrinth's effects, they somehow became lost in the forest.Just as Godou panicked, thinking they were in a bad situation..."Please go that way."Following the direction Yuri indicated resolutely with her finger, they wereable to get back to the stream.For Yuri's sake, Godou would stop for quick breaks from time to time.Given his physical stamina, this level of exertion was completely not aproblem. He also had outdoor experience before.In this manner, they traveled for roughly three hours.Glancing at his watch, Godou found the time to be approaching 2pm.Godou felt that Yuri's stamina was almost at her limits. Her eyes wanderingin a daze, her footsteps were weak and unsteady. Whenever anyonespoke to her, she would be startled before attempting to respond. Seeingher forcing herself to smile was heartbreaking."Let's rest around here for an hour or two."Although they had been taking breaks every once in a while, it seemed likeit was time for a longer period of rest.After Godou made his announcement, Yuri immediately showed anexpression of relief."U-Understood... Then I shall sit down for a bit over there..."Yuri walked unsteadily over to the shade under some trees.But she fell down along the way. Godou and Ena immediately hurried overto help her up and laid her leaning against a tree.She most likely collapsed from exhaustion. Resting against the tree trunk,Yuri fell asleep with audible breathing noises."Making you suffer so much of this hardship because of me, I'm reallysorry...""Oh well, Yuri is enduring hardship for the sake of fulfilling Your Majesty'sexpectations."While Godou apologized as he gazed at the peaceful sleeping face of thesheltered young lady, Ena commented with a smile.This sort of answer from the Seishuuin family's eldest daughter revealed aglimpse of her true nature. Above being a modern high school girl, she wasfirst and foremost a highborn Yamato Nadeshiko hailing from a prestigiousfamily steeped in warrior traditions."But it looks like it'll take at least three days to reach the sea if we keepmoving at this pace. Ena and Your Majesty can just make it, but Yuriprobably can't endure to the end.""You're right. I guess we really have to try that method..."Godou paced about as he contemplated the idea.Then he turned to look at the stream that fulfilled the role of a guideline.In terms of caloric consumption, the idea was vastly superior to marchingon land. However, the dangers involved were likely twenty times greater ormore. Furthermore, they did not have the necessary equipment."Your Majesty is so amazing. To think you've got an idea already. What isit?""Yeah, didn't Erica and Liliana mention already? There was someone whoused rafting to get out to sea. But if amateurs like us with no experiencetried it, we'll definitely capsize along the way. Besides, without an inflatableboat or oars, we can't even attempt the challenge."In addition, trying to build a wooden boat would require substantial skill andtools.Precisely due to these reasons, Godou had abandoned this idea whichhad zero chance of realization. However, Ena began to ponder in earnestafter hearing it."Seishuuin? This really isn't going to work. There's no need to ponder it soseriously.""No, although there are many problems in the details... It's not impossible.So long as Ena and Yuri make the most of our spells, it should still work."What!? Godou was greatly surprised by this unforeseen answer."Rather than getting cornered without any options because of worryingabout risk, it's better to commit to an attempt. But as expected of YourMajesty, Ena couldn't possibly have thought up an idea like that!"The Hime-Miko of the Sword remarked cheerfully with a smile of praise."I'm sorry, I completely don't understand what part of my idea is worthy ofyour praise.""No no, Ena always shows admiration for anyone who could come up witheven more ridiculous ideas. Besides, Your Majesty is a person who notonly has ideas but also puts them into action.""Now that you put it this way, I don't feel like I'm being praised..."With a subtle feeling, Godou put down his rucksack and began torummage through his luggage.Yuri would probably want to have some light snacks once she woke up.Godou readied his equipment in preparation for that.On the other hand, Ena made a childish expression as if about to engagein mischief.Taking a knife, she slowly cut down branches from the trees growing onthe riverbank. Then gathering the fallen branches, she took out varioustools from her rucksack." JV'Ena hummed as she engrossed herself in the unknown task.Finishing preparations for outdoor cooking (which was not much to speakof), Godou waited leisurely for Yuri to wake up and Ena to finish her task.Forty minutes passed. With great satisfaction, Ena placed the finishedobject into her pocket.A little while after that, Yuri woke up and began to survey the riverbanksurroundings with a sleepy gaze.Godou got ready.Ena took out a bottle of natural stream water on which the words"wonderfully delicious" were written on it. The water was poured into astainless steel pot they were carrying. Then Godou took out a small-sizedgas stove to boil it.Once the water boiled in the pot, some of it was poured into threealuminum mugs.Then instant coffee and sugar from stick-shaped sachets were added andstirred. The sugar portion was especially generous.After that, Godou added bag-packaged instant noodles to the boiling waterin the pot.While waiting for the noodles to cook, Godou called Yuri and Ena over."Fufu. This is so sweet and very tasty too."Scalded slightly by the temperature of the aluminum mug's brim, Yuri wasdrinking her coffee in a cherishing manner.She smiled radiantly. In actual fact, people would find sugar particularlytasty after exhausting themselves on a long walk. This was due to thebody's desire for energy replenishment."Say, Seishuuin, what were you doing just now?""Hmm, something I made just in case. I'll explain later."Seeing Ena busy eating her noodles, Godou decided to pursue the matterlater.He was quite hungry too. Godou wolfed down the noodles together withthe salty broth. On the other hand, Yuri was gracefully eating her noodleswith a satisfied expression.Renourished, the trio cleared up efficiently.Godou still had no intention of setting off immediately. Although theyneeded to hurry on their way, it would be placing the cart before the horseif this caused Yuri to collapse again. Let's rest a little while longer — Godouthought to himself.However, before he could give voice to his thoughts, he suddenly sensedthe approach of a situation that rendered his sentence moot.A great noise was heard. It was the type of noise produced from treesfalling over left and right, trampled by the approach of some kind ofgigantic entity.Ena stood up and gathered her concentration, directing her focused gazetowards the noise.Surprised, Yuri also did the same as her fellow miko.Then the figure entered Godou's field of vision.A giant, roughly fourteen or fifteen meters tall. Musclebound all over. Sinceall he wore was a loincloth, his extraordinarily developed muscles wereclear to see.And he was one-eyed. Instead of two eyeballs, he only possessed one.A one-eyed giant. According to Greek mythology, this would be a cyclops.Appearing before Godou's group was a new minion of the goddess.Part 5The cyclops looked down at Godou's trio from above, making a violentsnort.He seemed quite excited. It would come as no surprise if he suddenlyattacked. Responding to Ena's consent-seeking gaze, Godou passed Amano Murakumo no Tsurugi's usage rights to her.Then the jet-black divine blade suddenly manifested in the hand of theHime-Miko of the Sword in a display of steel might.As Ena prepared to approach and attack the cyclops in one fell swoop,Godou gestured to her to stand down.There was not much point in skirmishing here against an enemy of merelydivine beast class. The mastermind was somewhere else. Godou lookedtowards the expansive sky behind the cyclops."In any case, you must be watching this! Stop sending these subordinatesand come down yourself!"Godou called out to the goddess who should be somewhere behind herminion's back.The response came instantly. Dazzling light descended from the sky,glittering as brilliantly as sunlight reflecting off the surface of water.Countless lights gathered together.This dazzling brightness swirled in a vortex resembling a galaxy anddescended next to the cyclops.'Fufufufu. I cannot but answer your summons, my dear. My most belovedgod-slayer!'The goddess' voice came from the vortex of light floating in midair.Godou could feel his body and mind overflowing with combat power andrising emotion. Although she still concealed her appearance, her true bodywas definitely present. Then a familiar cawing was heard.SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWK!The divine eagle flew from the distant sky. The wounds Ena inflictedseemed to have healed completely.With the divine eagle gathered with the cyclops, the opposing side'sformation was ready."What the heck do you mean by 'most beloved'... You won't even talk tome face to face."'We can casually enjoy that kind of activity later.'The goddess replied to Godou's grumbling in an inexplicably adorable toneof voice.'Ufufu. In my view, a man must first possess a strong body and heroicmettle in order to become mine. My dear, by my eyes of a goddess', I cantell you are my type of man. How about it, accept these loving feelings andagree to my invitation, yes?'"What invitation? Is it going to be... Twisting my arms and legs off again,right?"Despite the annoyance Godou was feeling, he still continued to converse:"If you plan to take me by force, we'll simply have to resist. But I don'treally want to engage in violence. Why don't you give up on me andcontinue living your life quietly?"As a believer in pacifism, Godou tried his best to propose calmly.However, the goddess in her vortex of light form did not answer. Insteadshe seemed to giving off an impression as though she was smiling"fufufufu..." Godou sighed.Just as Amakasu pointed out, this goddess really did seem to have stalkercharacteristics.In that case, Godou had no choice but to respond accordingly. He firstasked:"Who made this island? Was it you or Alexandre Gascoigne?"'Ah, what a truly nostalgic name. Speaking of which, he is also agod-slayer of the present generation. Fufufufu, so it turns out that you twoknow each other!'A correct guess. Godou had mentioned Alec's name simply as a test, but itturned out to be right on target.Having gotten a lead, Godou nodded. But then the goddess' next wordscaused him to go "Eh?" in great surprise.'Just as you suggested, this island is something I created to reminisce theage of myths, using the divine artifact given to me by him — His HighnessAlexandre, as proof of love. This isolated island, as a goddess' territory,shall become the love nest for Kusanagi-sama and I!'"P-Proof of love!?""Given by Prince Alec!?"Yuri and Ena were simultaneously dumbstruck by the shocking news.However, the goddess did not elaborate further on this topic. Instead, herdazzling brightness intensified compared to before.In response to the light, the divine eagle suddenly cried out.SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWKMEven the cyclops began to yell sonorously in accord.UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!The savage divine minion stomped his feet. He seemed like he was all toeager to start "twisting off" Godou's arms and legs. In that case, theappropriate choice would be —"For victory, hasten forth before me... O Immortal Sun, I beseech thee togrant radiance to the stallion!"Pulling out a trump card suddenly, Godou invoked his greatest firepower,the [White Stallion].This Fire Goddess had apparently caused all sorts of commotions over thepast few years. This was enough to satisfy the condition of "a great sinnerwho had caused suffering to the people."Obtaining victory in this manner would be best. Even if the enemy was notdefeated, at least a certain matter could be confirmed —Believing thus, Godou summoned a second sun into the eastern sky fromwhere spears of white light were released to descend upon the earth.Godou intended to engulf the vortex of light that stood as the goddess'incarnation.'O light of dawn, offer up to me the shield of gold!'However, the goddess chanted spell words as if operating underpre-established harmony.^As her facade, the vortex of light spread itself out like a canopy to block the[White Stallion].In the past, Marquis Voban had used the sun god Apollo's authority todevour these flames. This time, they were absorbed by the goddess'glittering radiance!"An existence capable of devouring light must necessarily harbor lightwithin as well, I see..."Godou recalled Yuri's oracle from the past.Just as he thought, this Fire Goddess was also a sun deity. Godou turnedhis gaze towards the Hime-Miko beside him. However, Yuri shook herhead with a sad expression.She was still unable to discern the goddess' true identity.This meant they could not rely on the [Sword]. Without that weapon,fighting an enemy in command of a myriad of divine powers would be quitechallenging..."Your Majesty. Let's take Erica-san's advice and make a run for it as soonas we find an opportunity."Godou nodded in agreement with Ena's suggestion.Having finished shooting flames, the sun in the eastern sky disappeared.In its place, the divine eagle attacked from the sky while the cyclops on theground raised his fist to pummel Godou!Ena instantly sprang into action. Performing a horizontal sweep with herpartner of steel, she called out."Night descends with pitch-black darkness at Makimuku's... Rising soundsof the river herald a raging storm.A storm's spell words. With Susanoo's spiritual presence residing in theHime-Miko's body, divine possession was invoked.Instantly transformed into a heaven-sent child of the winds, Ena raisedAma no Murakumo no Tsurugi up high and swung, releasing a slicingvacuum from the jet-black blade. Her target was naturally the incomingdivine eagle in flight.Exhibiting its superb flying skills, the divine eagle evaded the vacuumblade by ascending with breathtaking speed.However, Ena swung Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi in response. Thevacuum blade instantly changed its trajectory to pursue the escaped divineeagle.Ena was employing a flying projectile for the purpose of severing theenemy's wings.Meanwhile, the cyclops' fist descended like an iron hammer —Godou blocked with both arms. Naturally, he was using the incarnation ofthe [Bull]. Since his opponent was the one-eyed giant, he might as well usethe incarnation of peerless might."Daaaaah!"Godou grabbed the cyclops' fist and swung hard.Employing the same principle as used in the track and field event ofhammer throwing, 180cm tall Godou was able to launch the 15m cyclopsinto the air.It was truly ridiculous to the extreme.With a shocked expression, the one-eyed giant fell among the trees in theforest. Naturally, this could not have inflicted a critical injury. Nevertheless,it bought time for Godou to summon his next source of battle power."The one unblunted and unapproachable! Oath-breaking sinners bepurged by the iron hammer of justice!"After an interval of mere days, he summoned the [Boar] again.Within the blink of an eye, the pitch black flames manifesting in midairtransformed into a beast and descended on the ground.This time, there were two targets — the cyclops and the divine eagle.Although this was supposed to be a troublesome task, the [Boar] seemeddelighted instead and cried out with joy.00000000000000000000000000This was the new power Godou had learned about not too long ago. Thepreparation prior to releasing super Shockwaves.This groaning was about to turn into the most powerful artillery.Immediately...ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAyLike last time, the [Boar] suddenly released a Shockwave from its mouth.The Shockwave blew away the stately body of the divine eagle.Godou had learned his lesson from last time. The flying king of birds was atroublesome enemy capable of taking a "firebird" form. By focusing ondefeating it first, he could then handle the enemies on the ground.Thus he ordered the [Boar] to roar heartily and release a great Shockwave.Even the divine eagle was unable to evade. Blown away by a direct hit, itcrumbled into dust and disappeared.Nevertheless, the cyclops stood up once again during this time.The one-eyed giant raised its arm towards the sky. Next, dark cloudsgathered densely in the sky and released lightning. The zigzagging lightingstruck the [Boar]'s gigantic body.ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAR!The [Boar] howled in pain. However, Ena had already started running whilethis was happening.Running swiftly like a wolf, she swiftly took care of the cyclops, landing aslice on his right shin. A full powered cut performed with Ama noMurakumo no Tsurugi. Even the one-eyed giant was unable to enduresuch an attack and fell backwards.Ena sliced again. This time, she aimed at the left shin.The [Boar] charged mercilessly at the unbalanced enemy whose legs wereboth injured by slicing wounds.ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!Ramming at full power with its head, the [Boar] stabbed its two tusks,sharp as swords, into the enemy's belly. Then withdrawing its tusks, itslammed with its body again.The cyclops was sent flying like a rag.Lying on the ground, the giant was on his last breath. Landing a decisiveblow at this moment was probably no challenge at all.However, Godou suddenly realized with surprise. Compared to the battleat Kimigahama, the divine eagle and giant were rather fragile. Last time,the Fire Goddess had clearly injected power into her minions to powerthem up.Why did she not do so this time?'Indeed you are ferocious and brave... Now that is the hero worthy of myattentions, Kusanagi-sama!'Hovering in the sky, the vortex of light murmured.The princess goddess' voice seemed to be filled with absolute confidenceand calm. Godou began to tremble without reason. His Campione instinctshad sensed danger and was warning him!'In that case, I shall not be stingy. Come, you girls, demons of the wind!Hum for the terrifying Devil King the song held in reserve, one he cannothear!'A song of spell words. Godou instantly raised his magical power.If the enemy was using magic, he should raise his magical power as highas he could to deflect it. This was a technique commonly seen in battlesbetween gods and god-slayers.In one breath, Godou heightened in his body the magical power belongingto a Campione.Everything was all set — That was what one would normally expect.Nevertheless, Godou had a strange feeling, as if some "foreign body" hadentered his body...?'Fufufu. Faced against a god-slayer accustomed to battle, quite a lot ofspells cannot take much of an effect. Hence I used the blowing wind tocarry a spell in an attempt to send it into your body's interior. Rathersuccessfully, apparently.'Did the goddess achieve a similar effect as what normally required oralintake!?Godou was greatly shocked. Had he known about this, he surely wouldhave tried to resist. But now it was too late. Much too late.What kind of spell had been cast on his body — ?Trembling, Godou saw a change occurring before his eyes. A great manygeometric patterns appeared in the sky, tracing out a glowing magic circle.Then the goddess chanted:'Come. Before a beautiful goddess, sharp swords are unnecessary, arethey not? Violent spears and arrows for shooting prey are likewise useless.Shed your armor, throw down your shield, come to my side!'Instantly, the [Boar] disappeared from Godou's sight. In its stead, a stylized[Boar] emblem manifested in the magic circle in the sky."...Stolen, huh?"Godou muttered in shock as he gradually understood.The spell just now had stolen Verethragna's incarnation. He attempted totransmit commands to the [Boar] but there was no response. He could nolonger feel the divine beast's existence at all!'O great and valiant hero, hurry over to my side!'The goddess proceeded to chant further.Godou could sense something else being taken from within his body.Immediately, the magic circle in the sky displayed emblems of a horse anda bull. The [White Stallion] and the [Bull] were also taken."Godou-san! If this continues, all the incarnations will be stolen!"Yuri suddenly yelled out beside him, her face full of worry."Please try your hardest to resist the goddess' spell! Hurry!"This urgent command was completely unlike the gentle YamatoNadeshiko.Nevertheless, this was due to the current desperate situation. Godouraised his magical power again.Silently, he recited Verethagna's scripture in his mind with great force. I amthe strongest, holding all victory in my hands. Man and devil, all enemies,all who harbor enmity will be vanquished!Singlemindedly focused on defeating the foreign object in his body, heconcentrated his thoughts on breaking the goddess' spell.However, during this time —More emblems continued to appear in the magic circle.The patterns swirled like a tornado. Next were the goat, the ram, theraptor — Defeat was imminent if this continued!"Damn it. Is everything going to be stolen!?"Yelling from the bottom of his lungs, Godou summoned all his magicalpower to drive out the invisible enemy.Then Godou finally sensed the disappearance of the rampant magic withinhis body."Of the ten incarnations... Only three remain, huh."Seven emblems were glowing in the magic circle in the sky.Left within Godou's body were the three incarnations of the [Camel], the[Youth] and the [Warrior]. All the rest had been stolen."She possesses the power to capture heroes and enslave them. Being aglorious hero god, Verethragna has been ensnared by her powerfulqualities as a femme fatale...""What a troublesome ability to handle..."Hearing Yuri's oracle, Ena muttered in shock.Her reaction was perfectly reasonable. Faced with a completelyunforeseen attack, even Godou was completely stunned.'Fufufufu. Kusanagi-sama, you should give up. Be my captive — this impliesbecoming a goddess' lover, you know? Let us get along in harmony toenjoy eternal love? Cultivating romance between a goddess and agod-slayer should prove to be most amusing!'Godou's only remaining weapons were Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi andthree incarnations.But in the current situation, both the [Youth] and the [Warrior] could not beused. Godou was also highly doubtful of the [Camel]'s usefulness indealing with a goddess who used magic.Godou felt himself being cornered into desperation.'Come, Kusanagi-sama. Please come to my side.'Up until this point, the goddess had taken the form of a swirling vortex oflight.This glittering brilliance changed in form to take on human appearance. Awoman's silhouette as slender as a juniper. Then her height expanded toroughly five meters.Reaching out with her slender arms, she intended to capture him.Damn it! I can't just do nothing to resist!? A savage grin appeared onGodou's face involuntarily. Just as he prepared to struggle to the bitterend —"I won't let you have His Majesty! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"With a vigorous yell, the Hime-Miko of the Sword swung Ama noMurakumo no Tsurugi in a slash.Infused with Susanoo's divine presence, the divine sword severed thegoddess' arm at the elbow!'Kyaaaaaaaaaah!'The goddess screamed, causing Godou to jump in surprise.The goddess' silhouette form dissipated and reformed as the vortex oflight. Rising up into the gray sky covered by dense thunderclouds, itseemed like she was fleeing from Ena and Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi.To think the sword slash just now could display such might against a[Heretic God]—As Godou was overcome with surprise, the vortex of light entered thecluster of thunderclouds.Next, the dark clouds covering the sky kept releasing lightning and startedto attack their location.Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!Every time lightning struck the ground, rumbling thunder was producedwith great impact.While avoiding this place, the goddess seemed to be firing off lightningstrikes nonstop. Thunder rumbled continuously without pause.The lightning had yet to strike the trio of Godou, Yuri and Ena. However, itwas going to happen sooner or later.If they continued to stay here, they would probably be burnt to a crisp bylightning in a matter of minutes. Just at this moment —"Your Majesty... The thing mentioned earlier is already prepared. Ena isready any time you want."The Hime-Miko of the Sword murmured softly.The thing mentioned earlier, could it be that!? Godou looked at the streamand turned his gaze back at Ena. She responded with a fearless smile.They were really going to do that!?Godou could barely contain his surprise but he nodded deeply at the sametime.Indeed, that was the only way to seek an escape route. He instantly madehis decision. Since Ena said it could be done, he would trust in and leavethings to her. However —Kusanagi Godou had one more companion. What about her?"...Mariya. I have a very ridiculous idea. I am very sorry for asking you toaccompany me in my recklessness, but could you please accompany me?"Godou called out as he watched the stream.Yuri went "Eh?" with surprise and followed Godou's gaze. Then she turnedto look at her childhood friend Ena's expression, only to see her gazing atthe flowing stream. Apparently garnering an understanding of whateverything meant, Yuri's expression stiffened.But then her expression change immediately. With a dignified expressionworthy of her "Hime" title, Yuri nodded as she leaned close to Godou andspoke:"I am coming too. Godou-san, please take me along!""Yuri, accompanied by the two of us, His Majesty must be sent to a safeplace. Naturally, we will stay together till the very end. Are you ready?"Ena also came to Godou's side. Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi hadalready disappeard from her hand, returning to within Godou's body.Yuri nodded with a resolute expression in response to her childhoodfriend's inquiry."Great. As soon as Ena uses the spell, we'll all ride on it. Then just keepcasting all the protective, disaster warding and anti-drowning spells youcan think of and we'll be fine!"As the Hime-Miko yelled, thunder rumbled overhead.Using this as an impromptu signal, the trio of Godou, Yuri and Ena alljumped into the stream —References1 . t Malaysian burger: a reference to the Ramlyburger.http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramly_Burger2. t Pre-established harmony: a reference to Leibniz's Monadologywhich theorizes that all substances (including minds and bodies)casually interact with one another because God programmed harmonyin advance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-established_harmony3. t Poem #1 101 of the Man'youshuu.