It was a little more than ten minutes after the end of the intense battle on
the plains of Senjougahara.
Kusanagi Godou was brought back to normal life with a phone call from
Sayanomiya Kaoru.
'Though I had worried if the situation might become very severe,
Kusanagi-san, your victory was splendid this time.'
"Eh? From where did you watch our battle?"
Godou began to search with his eyes the plains of Senjougahara which
had been turned into a dismal wasteland.
Before he could report the outcome of the battle, the chance to break the
news was seized from him.
'When the decisive battle began, the barrier of the Great Sage Equaling
Heaven was also destroyed so I was able to watch the entire process
using investigative magic all the way over from Toushouguu. In the end, I
was fortunate enough to witness the cooperation of you kings. I look
forward to great things in your future, and the way you took command was
simply magnificent.'
"Ah, not at all, it wasn't anything special... Anyway, how's the damage this
time?"
Praised in an unwanted area, Godou felt cold sweat running down his
back.
'Damage... Hmm, Toushouguu has suffered complete destruction. If it were
to be restored, the time required would be on the order of years. As for
how the crater on the plains of Senjougahara should be covered up, I am
still discussing it with my subordinates.'
Kaoru's voice did not sound calm or composed at all. She really seemed to
be worried.
Godou glanced at the great crater before his eyes, a little apologetic in his
heart. At some point in time, the boiling molten steel had somehow
disappeared.
The beautiful wetlands were marred by a huge crater with a diameter of
300m.
Even if one were to call it a crop circle, it would be far too big...
'All the various citizens and tourists who had turned into monkeys are now
recovering consciousness. We have started providing them with
psychological counseling.'
"Psychological counseling?"
'Yes, the vast majority of the saved victims lost the memories from the time
when they were monkeys, but a portion of them reported seeing a monkey
god and having a nightmare of transforming into a monkey, and in that
dream a frightful devil king appeared and threatened them, that if they
don't help him out they would be turned into monkeys once again.'
Godou had a great shock. Was this caused by the stress of the [Goat]!?
'Plus there were unbelievable phenomena like those who were sure they
had been at Toushouguu, but woke up at Lake Chuuzenji, or people who
should be sleeping at home, but found themselves outside. It's a bit difficult
to cover everything up with a reason like mass hallucination, so we will
start using hypnosis wizardry to edit their memories.'
It seemed like things had become very serious.
Godou felt extremely apologetic and started acting very awkwardly.
'The victims need the provision of psychological counseling as well as
mass hypnosis and the implanting of fabricated memories. Though it is a
difficult undertaking with thousands of subjects, we have already made full
preparations during everyone's battles, and we will definitely give it our
best.'
This was the description of the efforts for preventing the disclosure of news
about gods. It sure sounded like fictional dialogue from television.
However, even if information could be manipulated, the physical evidence
left behind in the real world could not be eliminated so simply...
Godou could do nothing but sigh as he hung up the phone, facing the
massive evidence carved out of the great land.
"Looks like losses were unexpectedly small. Truly wonderful."
"It feels particularly delightful to finally close the case on the Great Sage
Equaling Heaven. Godou and Smith, I, Luo Hao, must surely reward the
both of you well for your contributions in our cooperative battle."
Beside the sighing devil king were the other two Campiones.
As a side note, even though the Great Sage Equaling Heaven had been
defeated, no one seemed to have usurped any authority. Was it really
because the battle ended with a three-versus-one finish?
"Then I shall take my leave. Until next time."
"You're going already? Isn't there still a lot of cleanup to handle? You're not
staying to help?"
As the masked king suddenly took his leave, Godou immediately asked
him to stay without a thought.
Even though they had only fought together as comrades briefly, Godou felt
that, if he had to put it into words, Smith was a man who resonated
surprisingly well with him. To be frank, Godou felt a slight reluctance to
part.
"Truly regrettable, but it won't fit John Pluto Smith's style otherwise. When
the curtain falls upon the stage, the actor must exit. When the battle
concludes, the hero and devil king must also vanish."
Smith answered with an obviously posed tone of voice.
Expecting this kind of answer from the start, Godou could not help but
smile wryly as things occurred as predicted.
"As a return favor for the incident this time, I promise to help you out in
America if you're in trouble."
"Pardon my frankness, but if someone disastrous like you came over, who
knows what kind of tragedy would befall my homeland? However, if you
really did visit, I would have no choice but to take up the responsibility of
supervising you."
Smith extended his black leather-gloved right hand.
Godou shook hands in return. Inconsistent with the image of the
pretentious nobleman, the hand felt unnaturally soft.
"Your Beautiful Eminence, please take care, though who knows when we
shall meet again. If possible, I, John Pluto Smith, never wish to make you
my enemy."
The black caped king bowed elegantly and extended his hand towards the
third king.
The demonic cult leader showed an expression that seemed to say 'Could
he actually be offering to shake hands?' Godou frantically blurted out:
"Nee-san, I think it would be very childish if you ignored him."
"What—!? You are staring at me with those eyes again! I understand of
course. Your elder sister simply has misgivings as a maiden against
shaking hands with an unidentified man!"
Delivering a contrived excuse, Luo Cuilian extended her hand in kind.
Smiling like a prankster beneath his mask, Smith immediately transformed
as soon as he let go, turning into the black demonic bird and taking flight.
(Afterwards, a certain American lady was taking a return plane trip,
anxiously worrying to herself: 'That boy, really, seemed to be gazing at me
with such thoughtful eyes a number of times... Unconsciously I began to
feel happy and became more and more familiar with him. Perhaps, could
there be some kind of fated bond between us... Annie, you idiot, he's ten
years younger than you! And a super sex maniac as well, completely
unsuitable! However, in the rare chance that...' Of course, Kusanagi Godou
had no way of knowing that such a little interlude occurred.)
Only two of the three Campiones remained.
"You won, Godou!"
It was Erica, and all the rest of his female companions had arrived,
apparently safe and sound.
Erica led the way with Yuri, Liliana and Ena following behind.
More surprisingly, even Amakasu Touma and Lu Yinghua arrived
immediately after them.
"Cough cough, what a hard day's work, Kusanagi-san. Originally I
wondered if I could help in some way, and rushed here from Toushouguu
by car, but you seemed to have settled everything by yourself."
"Spared the necessity of resolving ourselves to a sacrificial battle against
gods, we really need to cheer hurray."
It was the arrival of the girls and the much-missed male faction. However,
the new arrivals all suddenly froze in their tracks, because Luo Cuilian had
placed her hands on Godou's shoulders.
"So Godou, though it pains me to leave my 'little brother' behind, there are
[1]the sayings, friendship between gentlemen is as insipid as water, while
all banquets naturally come to an end. Your elder sister now returns to
Mount Lu."
"Little..." "Brother?" "And..." "Elder!?" "Sis?" "-ter!?"
Erica, Liliana, Yuri, Ena, as well as Amakasu and Lu Yinghua were all
speechless.
The demonic cult leader ignored them and continued, completely failing to
register their existences in her eyes.
"Until we meet again, you must work hard and improve. First of all, you
have to practice the proper way to address me, understood?"
"Uh, can't I just use 'Nee-san' directly?"
Even faced with a solemn order, Godou tried to muddle through without
outright agreeing.
Since he had already learnt the basics of how to get along with this elder
sister, and because the other party was someone who could not be
understood with common sense, Godou knew he cannot be caught up in
her rhythm and must express an appropriate degree of self determination.
"You have no wish to express reverence to the supreme exalted elder
sister?"
"It's important to not be fettered by trivial matters of address. Rather,
what's key is the way I see you. Nee-san and I made a vow to become
sworn siblings. With such an important promise between us as
companions, this fact will forever remain unchanged until the day I die. Isn't
that good enough?"
When facing Luo Cuilian, Godou found himself somehow able to resist
unlike the way the other girls always caught him in their whims.
Perhaps thanks to the emphasis of the 'sibling' relationship, as long as he
avoided seeing Nee-san as a 'woman', he felt like he could say anything
without reservation.
"What a handful to handle you are... I've heard that younger brothers are
cuter if they are a little bit naughty so I shall grant you special permission
this once. However, please do not forget, you are the only person in this
world who is allowed to call me your elder sister, understood?"
"No problem. You take care too, may we meet again as willed by fate."
Having bid their farewells, Luo Cuilian left Godou's side.
[2]
Flower petals began to flutter all around her. Was this the tree peony?As the elder sister and also transcendent beauty was surrounded by the
glamorous blizzard of petals, she vanished with a whoosh.
"Uh... what is this about? Unbelievable that Master would..."
With an extremely impressed expression, this time it was Lu Yinghua who
approached.
"I never would have expected Kusanagi-sama to have entered a sibling
pact with Master. The humble disciple Lu Yinghua, hereby congratulates
my Esteemed Uncle!"
"Esteemed Uncle!? Don't call me such a weird name!"
Godou reprimanded the youth who was saluting in the martial arts way with
one fist held against an open palm, his head bowed respectfully.
"Well, since you are Master's sworn younger brother, and also my superior
in martial might, I cannot casually address you... So, what about calling
you Godfather?"
"That's even worse, I'm not some kind of mafia boss!"
"Actually, since Master rules the Martial Realm and all Chinese-trained
martial artists, it is rather like being a mafia boss... After further
consideration, I think it's best that I call you Honored Uncle. So, Honored
Uncle, Lu Yinghua takes his leave."
Leaving with a smile devoid of his usual snobbishness, Lu Yinghua
departed.
As befitting of the qinggong master, he was gone like the wind in an
instant.
— Getting acquainted with so many powerful people, and becoming
unexpectedly familiar with them, let's hope this incident is resolved with
that... It was just as Godou was about to breathe a sigh of relief.
"I say, Godou, when did you get so intimate with Her Eminence? It's so
intimate that it's a little suspicious."
Erica's beautiful voice questioned.
Why? Somehow it felt like there were hidden barbs in that glamorous
voice.
"It's not so strange, right? In truth, she's actually quite a friendly person...
Uh, though I do think that she tends to be a bit disruptive, so it would be a
bad idea to let her loose in places with many people."
"For you to find a way to get so intimate with that kind of woman, how
exactly did you hook up with Her Eminence?"
"She seemed to be calling you 'little brother', right? I feel the same as what
Erica-san is insinuating, with just one or two days' time, it is very
suspicious for relations to have progressed to such intimacy. Really,
Godou-san you..."
Even Yuri lowered her gaze as if heart-broken.
She still had her bad habit of stopping midway in her sentences even when
there was much more she wanted to say.
"Another person agrees, further confirming my speculation. I only took my
eyes off you for a moment, and there you go settling such decisive matters
on your own. You truly are a monster."
"So amazing! Because it is too cool, even Ena doesn't know what to say."
Liliana nodded firmly, and even Ena was wryly poking fun at herself.
What was going on with them? Godou felt himself shrinking in retreat.
Come on, all he did was gain something like a step-sibling, why were they
all reacting so subtly!?
"Come on, could you all quiet down a bit? Yuri-neechan and all the other
Onee-sama should know your bounds. Onii-sama just finished this severe
and deadly battle. Really, you have all failed to be mindful of that!"
Help came from an unexpected ally in the form of Mariya Hikari who had
not been seen earlier. Held in her arms against her chest were cans of
coffee and bottled tea and water.
"I think everyone is acting a bit lacking in feminine delicacy... Right,
Onii-sama, these are drinks I bought at the vending machine from a nearby
restaurant. Which kind would you like?"
"It's for me? Thanks."
Having loudly chastised the older girls, Hikari immediately put away her
intimidating anger and smiled at Godou.
She must have been absent earlier because she took a long route?
Figuring that out, Godou was very pleased with Hikari's thoughtfulness.
After going through such an intense battle, his throat did feel very parched.
Hikari proceeded to narrow her eyes and gaze at him with a tender
expression.
This expression and gesture did not match her young age, and should only
be displayed by mature women.
"Actually, I wanted to cook something for you, but it can't be helped in a
place like this... By the way, I'm pretty good at making dishes. Not as well
as Onee-chan, but for a student of my age, my skills are not bad at all.
Next time, please enjoy a lunchbox prepared by me."
"I don't really mind, but we go to different schools."
"In that case, we can just go out together. Why not next Saturday?"
"An acquaintance will probably be asking me to put in a shift for work...
Eh? What is with everyone?"
Starting at some point, the surrounding mood had changed.
Erica deliberately shrugged with exaggeration. Yuri timidly gazed at Godou
and her sister.
Ena sighed uncharacteristically, saying something like 'Hikari ended up
becoming His Majesty's woman as well, this is far too shocking.'
"Kusanagi Godou, looks like I have won the wager this time. Let alone a
month, the result arrived in less than a fortnight. This actually exceeds my
expectations..."
Then Liliana proceeded to say something incomprehensible.
"No matter how things went, the fact of my winning remains unchanged. I,
Liliana Kranjcar, will henceforth become your loyal vassal like no other,
serving by your side and offering everything to you as your premier knight."
Hearing her sudden unexpected victory declaration, Godou was
speechless and completely bewildered by what she was trying to say.
Greatly perplexed, Godou turned to look at the only other male remaining
at the scene, Amakasu. What on earth was going on?
"Kusanagi-san... Because you dug your own grave, I cannot help you."
The observing ninja descendant teased Godou with a strained expression,
trying his hardest not to burst out in laughter.
"Hikari... What on earth are you trying to do!? I-If father and mother found
out, do you know how they will scold you? Please think a little!"
"It's okay, Onee-chan."
In contrast to the older sister whose face was flushed red, the younger
sister was very relaxed and complacent.
"If I explained that we will be serving Onii-sama as sisters, I'm sure
grandpa and grandma will be very happy. In that case, father, who married
into the Mariya family, probably won't say anything while mother is just an
optimist. I don't think she'll mind."
Hoho. Hikari seemed to be laughing as if gloating over her victory.
"My dear group of Onee-sama, this is the fact of the matter. Please instruct
and remind me well from now on... However, please don't worry, as the
youngest member, I will humbly get along with you all, especially
Erica-neesama. Everyone, I will be in your care."
"Looks like in terms of social aptitude, Hikari surpasses the older sister by
far..."
Erica murmured with great feeling as she reached out to Godou beside
her.
Then she pinched his upper arm hard.
"Ouch! What are you doing!?"
"In exchange for absolution from me, this little punishment is nothing, so
stop complaining... Or perhaps in consideration for the future, it'd be best if
I stab you once instead?"
Completely ignoring Godou's protest, Erica pondered seriously.
For some reason, Yuri, Ena, Liliana and Amakasu proceeded to nod
vigorously in agreement.
There was a beautiful little girl standing on the peak of Nantaisan,
overlooking the distant world beneath where lights dotted the streets.
If one were to look towards her hand, a heavy circular medallion would
come into view.
A circular disc made of an alloy of gold and iron, it was about the same
size as the girl's fist. Engraved with script that was reminiscent of a
[Sword], the girl gazed unerringly at its surface for quite a while, as the
number of patterns incremented and a second [Sword] appeared on the
circular sculpture.
"After Perseus, it was the Great Sage Equaling Heaven's turn to be
destroyed, and both their steel have been left upon the earth. Clearly, that
Great Sage will not be the last hero to manifest in this world..."
The blonde girl who resembled a classic western doll looked to be about
twelve or thirteen in age. It was the Divine Ancestor who introduced herself
as Guinevere to Luo Hao previously.
"When the Great Sage called upon the power to defeat devil kings and
bring salvation to the world, I actually thought it might be possible, the
destiny written in the stars for the 'one who manifests at the end' to
become the strongest sword of [Steel]... Though incomplete, the Great
Sage managed to make skillful use of it, as befitted the magnificent hero
from the great land of China."
Breathing a sigh, she put the circular medallion away and it was at this
time that Guinevere noticed a presence.
"Prince, though you may possess the power of god speed, you are really
unskilled in the techniques of hiding in the shadows..."
"Hmph, you witch. Your sense of smell is sharp as ever."
From the shadows of the volcanic rocks, out stepped a man. It was Black
Prince Alec.
His real name was Alexandre Gascoigne. As suggested by his family
name, he was the Campione whose ancestry traced its roots back to
France.
"I just wanted to find out what your true intentions are."
"How scary... But regrettably, the open matter has already been settled.
Guinevere will be heading back home now. So, let us meet again in
Europe."
"Very well, we shall meet again, Witch of Brittany."
If the Black Prince were to pursue using godlike speed, even the Divine
Ancestor would be no match.
Knowing that the cold reply of the Black Prince implied that he had no
intention of giving chase, Guinevere flew into the sky, enveloped in golden
light.
"What a waste of a trip... That said, the strength of this monkey called the
Great Sage Equaling Heaven really was too abnormal. What was the
source of all that power?"
Watching the witch depart, Alec muttered to himself.
After finding out there were three other Campiones present, he had
deemed it unnecessary to intervene. But for the sake of discerning the
nature of that power, participating in the battle would not have been such a
bad idea—
Ending his contemplation here, Alec shrugged his shoulders.
It was pointless to dwell any further on a concluded incident. If another
similarly alarming situation were to arise in the future, just start gathering
information all over again...