Campione! Vol 1 Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - Wind, Rain, Wolf

As the storm ravaged the night, it was somewhere not far from the Tokyo

Anyone with some slightly normal sense would not venture outside in such

No, even a person with particularly urgent things to do would not choose to

Within the storm, an old man stood, wearing a black jacket with joyful

"Hahahahahaha! Search and go hunt! Tonight is such a wonderful night!

Dejanstahl Voban yelled loudly.

started racing across the city in the night. As if carrying his laughter, the

The screams of the wind and the sound of thunder, heavy rain striking the

Without any signs of people on the streets, the cars on the roads also

In other words, it would not have been an exaggeration to say it had turned

the wasteland.

The one who appeared to admire with sincerity was the History

Beside him was Liliana Kranjcar. As she peeked at the one who sort of

"Especially this tasteless act. It is as if he had not found entertainment for a

secluded life!"

Something like that is no good—"

friend.

They had discovered the old Devil King and hid in a dark spot of some

Roughly thirty minutes ago, Erica had brought Liliana over to her cause,

searched for Voban.

location.

As Erica and Liliana walked together, a car stopped on the road, suddenly

Opening a black umbrella and walking out into the heavy rain.

head as if saying "can't stand this," gave up, and simply let his suit take in

"Meeting here must be fate then, let's go... So, could you introduce this

Kranjcar-san somewhere before?"

"So Amakasu-san, may I ask you a question?"

measurements are secrets, yes?"

Erica threw him a vicious stare.

Godou was requested in this affair."

Amakasu played dumb and laughed, his calm and relaxed facade did not

"Actually we are very worried about Erica-san as well. Isn't it normal to

"So how is it? When someone close to him is caught in danger, Godou will

Marquis could turn out to be a good opportunity to push Godou forward in

"You overthought this. After all, we of the History Compilation Committee

the Tokyo residents and the Japanese nation."

Amakasu, though clearly insincere, had a face that somehow one could

Listening to the conversation of the two, Liliana whispered with a lack of

"Conversations like those between foxes and bats should take place

Kusanagi Godou in this direction?"

direction."

...Of course, one could not be careless with a man like Kusanagi Godou.

these strange people.

not very amusing.

succeeded far beyond expectation. ...One must take note of this in the

Fooling around with newcomers would be fine. This was the privilege of a

The one whom Kusanagi Godou truly loves above all can be no one else

"To carve this principle deep into the soul, truly has to begin from

parent who spoils his children is rather high..."

Erica shook her head at Liliana's question.

concentrate.

Godou and Dejanstahl Voban, the second round of the duel between

Erica and Liliana stepped forward side by side.

and thunder, laughing madly.

elderly king.

joined her rival, but why? Shouldn't you be following me?"

He could immediately tell that Liliana had changed her loyalties. His

"I express my deepest apologies. Liliana Kranjcar would now request to be

chivalry by participating in the kidnapping of the weak and womenfolk."

role model of a knight."

"Killing you by my own hand and letting you join the ranks of the [Dead

you as well. You won't be lonely eh? Girls with the disposition of wolves,

The darkness became restless once again.

out of the darkness.

Servants] can only be truly released from my shackles by the state of my

do not mistakenly believe that they will obtain peace. They have simply

will return to my shackles once again... My domination is eternal."

It was true. From amongst the defeated knights, there were now two that

gods, ordinary methods did not work.

smile.

correction. We are not your opponents. Have you forgotten this fact?"

The nature of Voban's smile changed.

composed warrior's hearty laughter from the boiling of hot blood could be

"That kind of brat can't even satisfy my hunger a tiny bit. A newborn king

power that overcame the other brat Salvatore, then I shall amend my

chance to enjoy fighting to my heart's content!"

Only to enjoy a good battle.

The king whose body had existed for centuries, who chose solitude and

nodded.

Godou! Your knight calls for you. Please descend once again, and fulfill

Taking a slight bow, raising her voice to call for that name.

young king.

—Away from the overflowing spell power, Liliana retreated in surprise.

Mariya Yuri dressed in her miko outfit.

long, what a rude fellow. As expected of the ally of that brat Salvatore."

mad."

Godou who responded with haughty battle spirit.

Part 2

right beside me."

Listening to Godou's directions, Yuri nodded sincerely.

via Verethragna's [Wind], and got off from Godou's body. Without a trace of

The place where Yuri ran towards, had Erica—as well as another person.

"I am Liliana Kranjcar. I hurried here at full speed to join under your

master as that female fox, I have judged your side to be the side of justice

Liliana spoke rapidly as she glared at her longtime acquaintance.

goodness knows where.

notebook of someone..."

Liliana said with a frown.

have been a difficult life getting along with that devil for so long.

have to force yourself..."

Liliana simply cut Godou off.

With dreamlike beauty like a fairy's, it felt like she had finally let go of

"Ok, thanks. Let's beat up that abominable old man together then."

Not only was she capable and had her own principles, she was lending her

gratitude.

Furthermore, you are doing this to save a friend and a lady. ...Well, as the

matter, this is within acceptable bounds."

This was already established in the first impression. This girl was

one were to imagine from that doll-like face, one would likely conclude that

With a forced smile, Godou generously nodded his head in response.

"Hmph, you sure talk too much about the most trivial of things. As a

Unfazed, Godou retorted against the criticisms of the old man.

have my trusted companions. You probably pride yourself on your solitary

"This brat really knows how to bark. So, let's see who has more bite!?"

Immediately, the death knights behind him moved at his call.

The first to approach were two knights, one red and the other blue, who

"Lily, there is no need to defeat the death knights. We just need to protect

"Any other strategy? Understood!"

Cuore di Leone and Il Maestro—the two magic swords traced spectacular

death knights.

not equal to the enemies before them.

master, there was an advantage to instant and flexible decision making

differences.

The ten or more death knights were intercepted by the two people Erica

Still, Voban continued to summon servants out of the darkness—a mobile

Amongst these warriors who resembled medieval knights, there were also

Corpses who wrapped their bodies with cloth and rope, swinging battle

the earlier half of the twentieth century, and carrying what appeared to be

like a Viking from some unknown era. Amongst the dead, there were also

The [Dead Servants] whose ranks included a haphazard mix of all sorts of

The firearms they carried appeared to be in no condition to fire. The blades

Even so, they were swarming in and swinging their weapons.

Servants].

Once again, Erica had split Cuore di Leone into thirteen parts to be

The magic sword of the lion floated in the sky like a ferocious bird of prey,

most powerful death knights, Erica stopped them by swinging her sword

Liliana stayed off the ground for the most part.

weapons, jumping around and flying without restriction. From above, she

her enemies.

Against the strongest death knights, they used hindering attacks and never

However, against the weakest servants, the magic swords attacked their

them were removed from battle. In truth, the tactics of the two could be

Completely low risk.

What remained constant was guarding Godou above all else. This was

"I didn't want to do this originally, but there's no other way!"

Even in a situation like this, the two of them did not give off any sense of

Seeing Erica and Liliana kicking away the dead, Godou had mixed

Though obedient, they were the victims killed by Voban's hand.

ended up defeated. As these people fell and stayed on earth as servants,

Of course, Verethragna's authorities weren't anything good either, but

—If he could, liberating them was the first thing Godou wanted to do.

In terms of strategy, it would be unwise. It was already established that the

would be better to save his trump card for something else.

casual footsteps.

"...Hey. Do you remember the first god you killed?"

Voban sneered.

Was that really all there is to it, other than turning into a giant wolf?

that this [Wolf] was the ability that he must be the most wary of.

Once again, the vigorous body of the giant silver wolf returned, a terrifying

—Currently in Godou's heart, resided two swords.

choose between them. Godou must decide between sealing the [Dead

around it.

"I know it. That bastard of a god you killed—the wolf god hanging around

The light shined with brilliance and glory.

formed numerous spheres of light and scattered.

However, he was also the god with the night-like epithet 'nukti eoikos.'[1] A

appearance and his nature, that was the god you killed."

Looking up, the view was mostly dominated by the giant wolf form of

in a crisscross manner.

'—What, what is that power!'

"That ancient epithet Smintheus. —It means rat. And then there is Lykaon,

origins stemmed from rats and wolves—the beasts of the earth and

This was the figure and nature of the god that Yuri observed.

continuously from somewhere deep inside him.

knowledge. Though his mind was totally blank, his mouth spoke on its own.

continuously.

images. Simple as that.

attributes of light and night—in other words, Apollo. The twin brother of the

born underground! This is the name of the first god you killed!"

'The spell words with the power to sever a god's power! Is this your trump

Voban roared stubbornly.

strand of fur transformed, turning into bodies the size of normal wolves,

The golden [Sword] brought color to the night sky swirling with wind and

The light of the spell words twinkled like stars, and flew towards the silver

In order to devour the [Sword], which flew back and forth around the giant

them. However, the [Sword]'s spheres of light simply advanced from within

Watching the victories repeating in the air several, no, dozens of times,

Let's attack in one fell swoop!

amongst the powerful mother earth goddesses. The mother of these

belonging to the temple of the earth."

Apollo of Light [Phoebus Apollo]. Apollo of Rats [Apollo Smintheus]. Apollo

This sun god had many little known contradictions. Godou once killed time

strange at the time.

guise of the dark night.'

eternally handsome youth. The sun god who loved and admired beauty. It

did.

which symbolized him. Rats, wolves and swans—as well as snakes. Those

The wolves used by his sister Artemis as servants, was the form of Apollo

link between earth and the underground. Finally there is the snake—as

the cycle of life and death."

[Wolves] continuously flew out from the body of the giant wolf, trying to rip,

The brilliant light of gold and silver fought fiercely, showering the area with

The eerie blaze of the supernatural aerial battle was carried out in a narrow

"However, the snake which appeared in Apollo's myth was neither his

snakes appear. It is the serpent Python which guarded the sacred land of

bow and arrows, thus becoming the god of the oracle."

oh oh oh oh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!!

Unable to resist the [Sword], the forms of the silver wolves disappeared as

the ground, causing massive shaking on the surrounding surface.

Since the weapon could not be defeated, attacking the controller was the

"Python was the great serpent born from the mother earth goddess Gaia.

his priestesses were called Pythia and delivered the oracle to those who

god who successfully killed a fellow brethren deity belonging to the earth."

If he attacked here in a straight line, it would be just right. He will sever

"The underground which connects the earth to the underworld, symbolized

earth, Apollo also embodied the light which existed to kill his mother.

became the god of disaster Loxias."

wolf horizontally.

the form of a skinny old man.

annoying special move."

Passion and calm, iron will and glory, all these were mixed together and

Godou.

power... Amongst the current [Kings], John Pluto also has a similar ability.

rules which bind you, victory can be easily obtained."

crooked smile.

probably hasn't been suppressed completely. When it struck, Godou felt

Seeing through the nature of the [Sword]'s spell words, Voban had halted

"Don't worry, with your level of ability, it is still too soon to present a

The [Dead Servants] received Voban's orders, and changed their

Up until now, they had been attacking without pattern. But now they

away from around Godou to regroup, and then attacked in waves.

"Just when I thought it was getting too easy, but this will be bad!"

showed signs of anxiety.

occupied Erica and Liliana, the great knight level corpses immediately

Clearly, Voban was manipulating the [Dead Servants] with his invisible will.

defeated was Apollo, and my wolf was the sacred beast authority I usurped

god other than Apollo?"

aware of that fact, Godou could do nothing about it. No matter what, the

It looks like Voban changed his method of attack in order to find the limits

Erica and Liliana swung their magical swords and continued to battle.

them. Just as Godou agonized that he was being protected by two girls—

Yuri's voice yelled out from behind him.

condition!"

Without enough remaining strength to answer, Godou could only whisper

Each of Verethragna's incarnations could only be used once a day.

beforehand.

extremely similar characteristics. Use the spell words dormant in your

Even Yuri spoke of something impossible. As Godou was caught in

Erica and Liliana were already at their limits trying to protect him. Enslaved

after their deaths, and the old man culprit was just standing there

If Godou doesn't give it a try, how will he know the result?

Servants], and apologetic towards his companions in battle, and so he

"Like Apollo, Osiris was also a god born from the earth!"

The nature of that god was the harvest brought about by the Nile river

"However, though born from the earth, he differs from the Apollo who

and the underworld—the close relative of the mother earth goddess, and

Apollo and Osiris were both sons of mother earth goddesses—the root of

Born in different cultures, but possessing many commonalities in attributes.

Speaking out the spell words against Osiris, the power was released to

"After becoming the sun god, Apollo finally obtained the guise of the dark

Apollo scurries in the form of a rat is also the world of darkness. In other

The mother earth goddess, who nurtured all life, was not just a goddess

Winter brings with it death. Godou had learnt this when fighting Athena, the

was the god of harvest born from the earth.

autumn, and welcomed death in winter.

—In Godou's hand appeared a huge longsword with a golden blade. This

went through death multiple times and was resurrected.

to go.

old king could be seen silently directing the dead's battles like an orchestra

Aiming at his target, Godou raised his sword.

of the underworld. The mother earth goddess' responsibilities included

son of the earth and god of the harvest, Osiris' dominion also included

mother earth goddess who does the killing as well as the harvest god who

The cycle of death and rebirth.

underworld deities of death, Isis and Artemis. However, the difference was

"Apollo did not have the authority to take lives, but instead, he became the

express death—his past includes being the god of pestilence!"

Golden light given off from the body of the blade lit up the entire battlefield.

Immediately, they chased after Voban who commanded from the back like

To defend against this attack, the dead warriors used their own bodies to

Godou made a grotesque smile. Their efforts were futile, as long as the

themselves for defense.

Part 3

However, the wind had not subsided. The wind was still blowing as

with thunder, reaching the ground.

"You really did it. Slaying my [Wolf], and sealing the cage of the [Dead

The slicing attack infused with all of Godou's liberated spell words.

hidden in Voban's body was completely severed. It was likely that he would

powers of Osiris—

It did not succeed completely. However, it still managed to decrease the

while the remaining half stopped moving.

power of domination.

magic swords, breathing slightly heavily.

scattered.

servants. What was that, could it have been words of thanks?

The dead did not simply disappear in form, but welcomed true death—they

The [Warrior]'s ability included not only the sword, but the sight to see

That was why Godou understood what happened.

celebrate. It was also worth it at such a great cost... Godou felt his spirits

Giving the [Sword] double spell words has consumed most of Godou's

His breathing was irregular, and his body felt weak.

did not expect it be so taxing.

What is going on? Godou felt like someone was speaking.

sorrowful expression, were staring at him. Why was there such a feeling?

me."

The wind began to moan.

Using the eyes of the [Warrior], Godou looked at the old king... This was

behind Voban.

mind.

Voban. Affecting their appearances was what the old man possessed, the

"Taken as entertainment, it's a bit exciting. As the one who fought

turn out to be a fine warrior."

Erica who had stepped in front to shield Godou was blown away. Liliana

also met the same fate.

descended from the sky.

gambled upon.

enemies, all who harbor enmity will be vanquished. Chanting the hymn to

It's working, the flash that should have landed on Godou's head missed his

The charred asphalt gave off a burnt smell.

air... If this continued, defeat would be imminent.

with my past self. To obtain a [King]'s authority without any magical

powers that a mage could never obtain through training, this was the path I

With another flash, this time it was lightning.

from the sky, and his body felt very hot. Perhaps Godou had already been

This time he was suddenly hit by a sudden gust of strong wind, and his

—Lost.

Even if his body was in full health, he did not have a way to evade wind

power. But no matter how tired his body felt, Godou still pushed himself to

The shaking of his knees was impossible to control. If this continued, he

"Godou-san!"

"Stand up, Kusanagi Godou! You have already fought to this point, show

Voices were heard. Yuri, Erica, as well as Liliana. Everyone was fine, and

...! ...! ...!

people, their voices carried from a far distance.

these people? It could barely be heard, but it sounded like pleas of "Get up

The voices did not stop, the voices of the crowd, the voices seeking power,

understood in an instant.

the new form.

when a Campione struggles to reach a new stage. I will not lose, declared

Such a strange power actually existed, and Godou's determination was

"—O Guardian of the righteous, I invite you and offer sacrifice. O Guardian

and develops new land, the one who grants victory and grace, I will

Battle spirit rising straight towards the sky, the spell words erupted.

which transformed from the [Warrior].

In that instant, Voban released lightning.

His palm covered with lightning, he had caught the attack as if it was a

Strong energy was also being released.

Feeling joy that he could finally counterattack, Godou relaxed the corner of

"—What?"

With the sound of rumbling, the old king deflected the path of the lightning

"So that is also your power, boy! To think you even had this level of battle

Due to the joy of battle, Voban's expression was radiant.

This was a power that he did not have the capacity to use alone. Despite

awakened without the victory wishes of those who were defeated by

—The will to defeat that man.

Numerous people were asking, begging, praying, hoping—the power of

like a hurricane. Godou could now hear them clearly.

And that was not all.

[Sword] severed Osiris' power of domination.

Heaven, hell, underworld, nirvana, temple of salvation, or promised land...

according to their various religions and cultures. It must be so. However to

king who had enslaved them for so long.

—Worrying about the intense thunderstorm and violent winds.

—Concerns of the giant shadow seen for an instant outside the window...

— Within the typhoon, there appeared to be some kind of gang fight, and

Even the feelings of the residents nearby could be felt clearly.

to the weather and the strange happenings, but to think that there were so

to keep collateral damage to a minimum.

closer to him.

his safe return with all her heart.

Godou's victory.

without limit. Within the body of the Campione, it was as if new life was

"Grant me power! Grant me the power to defeat Voban!"

At the same time, the sky was layered with the heavy thunderclouds

The sound of thunder. Lightning descended from the sky continuously.

the hearts of the people, and wield thunder as weapons.

explode in front of Godou, and gave off sparks.

began to gather.

Faced with the wave of thunder and lightning swarming him like a turbulent

exploding flashes of light, the two [Kings] vied for supremacy.

trying to push the thunder away.

No, Godou had the advantage, and the rapid thunderstrike engulfed

However, the old man's body only received minor burns, and could endure

by the thunder and lightning that should have consumed him completely,

"...Looks like you've created something that imitates a lightning rod, old

Godou laughed loudly, but he was counterattacked at that instant.

which swallowed Godou.

Godou used Verethragna's hymn to raise his magical power.

power. If it was Godou in the past, he would have been swept into the sky

However he was now able to escape the hurricane.

was engulfed by the wind, he struggled to maintain his form, not letting his

Magical power strengthened spells and authorities from afar.

could be performed much faster and more skillfully than before.

really are a reckless fellow, there is neither rule nor reason to your

"I really don't want to hear criticisms from someone like you!"

Though they both realized that defeating the other was not an easy task,

In the red-hot battle of thunder, the intense but fruitless shooting match

Part 4

the powers of Verethragna's ten forms, right? So which form is it?"

With the cessation of corpse activity, the battlefield had turned into a one

Discovering the History Compilation Committee member who popped up

"Yes, actually I was here watching from the start... Eh? This is a power not

"Looks like it. This is also the first time for me to see it—probably it was a

The one who answered was Erica. Liliana walked over to her side.

distance, watching over Godou from afar.

battle.

to lightning, but that was it. No matter what kind of attack he made, Godou

On the other hand, every electrical attack Godou performed was dodged

Though covered with burns and bruises, neither side could deliver a critical

attrition.

thunder—"

Surprisingly, the last line was spoken by Liliana.

behind it. This left Yuri with a deep impression.

instinct to characterize the divine power. Though Liliana was Erica's fellow

of a miko.

of people's hearts and holding the power of thunder."

In the moment Godou's new power awakened, Yuri immediately

the people at that location wished to become part of his battle strength.

Collecting the thoughts and feelings of the dead to become energy, and

behind by the [Dead Servants], as well as their sorrow and pain.

Stallion] and the [Boar].

would not be too surprising if that form possessed magical power

Since ancient times, [Horns] were the symbol of special magical power.

often wear hats or helmets featuring horns, and the purpose was to show

The deer, the bull, as well as the goat.

remnants of ancient religion faiths.

have made analogies comparing the goat to lightning in the sky. The

and there are similarities between it and the legend of the [Horse] carrying

promoted as a sacred beast by the Indo-European language family in

Amakasu looked very happy as usual while he spouted information about

Very interested, Amakasu asked the unsuspecting Yuri.

What is it this time that allowed the [Goat] to be used, Yuri-san?"

Just as Yuri was about to answer...

Though she had doubt from the beginning, she understood instantly.

warning.

However, it was very stern, and contained an unforgiving will. Yuri realized

information for Godou.

Of course Amakasu knew this, so for him to deliberately ask such a

that seemed to threaten "I will shut you up if you say something

"...No. About this, I am very sorry that even I do not know."

But because she understood Erica's concerns, Yuri lied.

of malevolence other than violence. In order to keep him safe, she still

Satisfied with Yuri's course of action, Erica put away her glare.

Feeling disappointed, Amakasu suddenly narrowed his eyes in surprise.

"Nothing, for some reason my body suddenly had a tired feeling... Anyway,

Knees losing strength, Yuri's body was starting to shake. She had to put all

It couldn't be helped, as the body felt like its strength was being sucked

—Observing closely, Amakasu also seemed to be in the same state.

However, Erica and Liliana were unaffected, and with incredulous eyes,

Yuri instinctively felt that both their—no, it was likely the life force of

converging at Kusanagi Godou who started releasing thunder to fight a

This was the [Goat]'s power, no, side effect.

force and converted it into Godou's power! If Erica and Liliana were fine, it

humans.

"...Uh, because this is a form wielding such great power, it comes with a

"Though every time is like this, but Kusanagi Godou's authority is simply

As Yuri explained, Amakasu honestly expressed his annoyance in a rare

Even Erica's eyes were popping out from surprise.

"Though that is true, to be able to reach this level and pay such a price is

turned out to be more capable than I imagined."

intense battle of thunder.

were turning their own magical power into lightning to attack each other.

they did not dare venture forward.

"Feeling people's hearts and forming a new ability... Though it is difficult to

serious side. I am slightly impressed."

A fairy-like beauty with an awe-inspiring flair, this was a knight's smile.

[Dead Servants] which caused the [Goat] form to awaken.

sway in the Marquis' favor. When that happens, you and I will support the

"Who are you talking to? That was exactly what I was going to say, Lily!"

bickering.

—Liliana Kranjcar, a girl whose named sounded like it came from an

and blue, the twin Great Knights guarding the same king. This description

Noticing Yuri's gaze, Liliana felt strange and asked.

"Eh? Did we meet before?"

so I sort of know you—uh, now is not the time for this kind of chat."

As she predicted, the tides of battle were slowly shifting, and in Voban's

Even in a fight between powerful supernatural entities, stalemates

As long as it was more advantageous to defend than to attack, these

What should have been an instant kill attack was ineffective against both

However, if the fight dragged on, the battle would sway towards the

things were not going his way.

When using his most powerful divine power, Voban abandoned his facade

madness, roaring with laughter.

A warrior since birth, though he had aged, his wild side was not lost. A man

instantly saw clearly.

expression a while ago.

thunderclouds. Godou felt difficulty breathing. This was the effect of Voban

To think he had the leisure to do that while engaged in a shooting match

The strongest violet lightning, this was in preparation for releasing

Godou did not have extra strength to do the same, it was already taking his

—This was the difference in power.

centuries, and the immature one who just debuted. There was an

"Boy, I should thank you. To be able to fight to this level, it has really

this!"

A grandiose declaration of his victory.

only focused on using the same thunder attack. This was his way of

Anxiety invaded Godou's heart.

If he was hit by the full strength lightning attack from a devil king of

was still another weapon against the old man—

Voban was preparing for the final strongest attack, while Godou realized

"Godou, you haven't forgotten me, right? Please let your knight Erica

matter where, we must fight together."

black.

with Godou.

with you, but at this point in time, I am also your knight. Before the battle

On his left, appeared the knight dressed in blue and black.

"This is too dangerous for you two to be here! Please leave now!"

cold.
"It may be as you say, however—if Erica and

Chapter end