Campione Lord of Realms Vol 3 Chapter 4 (Patreon)

Chapter 4 – Child of Pleasure Wandering in Hell, Child of Fate Has the Time of Awakening Coming to Her

.

Part 1

「But, it’s a mystery how I got dragged into this underground labyrinth……」

Rokuhara Ren was muttering in deep thought.

He was walking through a narrow corridor of the labyrinth. The path  sometimes split into two or three. In addition there was also crossroad  so it was troublesome.

Each time he would choose the path randomly to prioritize moving forward.

He had already lost any sense of where he was walking to. This  labyrinth had its walls and floors made from piled up bricks. It was  very intricate. If this place was built with only manual labor, it would  surely take dozens of years longer than making a pyramid.

Ren was doing nothing but walking aimlessly inside the astounding structure.

「On the surface when I used the magic eye on mister boar, I was the one who got frozen instead──that was what happened right?」

「Exactly. At that time you froze your own time Ren.」

Stella, his partner who was sitting on his left shoulder affirmed it.

As expected from the goddess of beauty and love. She was sharper in this kind of thing than him.

「『The power to stop time』 that should be send out was reflected back  on Ren yourself. It was fortunate that you only planned to stop the  opponent for a short time, so you managed to recover right away.」

「Reflected back, huh……」

It wasn’t like him but, Ren fell into deep thought.

「Could it be, Alec can also use 『counter』?」

It was the first authority that Rokuhara Ren treasured in the past.

The Retributive Justice that he usurped from Goddess Nemesis. With it  he could stock the attacks and curses that were sent at him and  released them as a counter attack at the time of his choosing.

He once also used it to counterattack his senpai, Kusanagi Godou’s 『avatar of White Stallion』 thingy.

「But, if he can do that……」

Ren muttered the point that he was puzzled about.

「Why did Alec got caught unaware by my magic eye last time?」

「Perhaps there is a requirement for him to activate it. You know, the  『Ten Avatars』 of that plain guy was also like that wasn’t it?」

「Certainly Kusanagi-senpai mentioned some things about it.」

「Anyway after Ren’s time stopped, a divine spirit of unknown identity came underneath Ren and dragged you into earth.」

「That thing must also be Alec’s minion or something……」

「It was definitely his subordinate. Just like that bird girl is for Ren.」

「That means, it must be very formidable.」

Ren put his thought in order together with Stella before he sighed.

He had faced against gods and Campiones many times until now. But,  this was his first time getting dragged into this kind of  incomprehensible battle.

「So this is what happen when Alec got serious……. Really, these Campiones are all people with bottomless strength.」

Ren wandered inside the labyrinth ainlessly.

Until now the passage that he was walking through was narrow that  there would be no space left if three adults walked side by side in it.  But, he suddenly came out to a wider path.

It was a wide space that wasn’t a labyrinth, but felt more like an underground city.

The wide open space continued far ahead. There were doors lined up on the walls with interval between them.

It looked similar like a large shopping mall of a subway station. Ren  who was getting fed up by the narrow labyrinth felt a sense of  liberation.

「Hee! So it also has this kind of place!」

「A monster will be waiting if you open the door──I hope there isn’t anything like that here……」

Stella mentioned the name Minotaurus before.

She was muttering with a spooked tone. The door that she was staring  was made from heavy wood. It didn’t have anything like lock attached on  it.

Ren made his decision and headed toward a nearby door.

「Wait Ren! What are you planning!?」

「I’m already bored just loitering around in a labyrinth, a trap will  come sooner or later anyway, so──let’s try testing it a little.」

*Clack*. Ren put his hand on the door knob and tried rotating it.

At the other side of the door, there was a spacious room. A banquet could be held in such space.

However anything like furniture was nonexistent inside. Though  attractive patterns were engraved on the marble pillars inside, so the  place didn’t look dreary.

Far from a minotaur, there wasn’t a single soul inside.

「Hahaha. We can relax for now.」

「Wait! Look over there Ren!」

Stella pointed at the ground from his left shoulder.

A black sphere around the size of a baseball ball was rolling.  However it suddenly started swelling up to proof that it wasn’t a ball.

The jet black sphere reached the diameter of five meter in the blink of eye.

────*Buun-!*

The sphere made a strange sound. At the same time, Ren who had Stella  riding on his left shoulder, his slim body suddenly floated and pulled  closer.

He was pulled with a terrific suction power toward the black sphere!

Just before Rokuhara Ren and Stella got taken inside the sphere──

「Time stop!」

Rainbow luster was radiated from Ren’s left eye.

The time of the black sphere was successfully stopped. The suction  power that the thing generated also ceased. Ren’s floating body also  flopped down.

After he landed successfully, Ren heard Alec’s voice.

『I already surmised that you can do it, and it’s just as I thought.  With that you can also freeze the authorities that we Campiones used and  stop them from activating.』

Ren loudly appealed to the “heavenly voice” that came down from the labyrinth’s ceiling.

「This ball, is it yours Alec!? That was really surprising!」

『Naturally, after all I set it up to surprise you. It’s called the  Magic Sphere of Avarice. It’s greedy just like the name suggested. It’s a  troubling thing that always try to suck in everything to make them its  possession.』

「What will happen to the things that got sucked in!?」

『By all means, please experience it yourself so you can ascertain it.』

Alec told Ren nonchalantly.

『Well then. I’m going to pour my power into that sphere now to dispel its time stop.』

「────!?」

Ren realized his cornered state when he heard that proclamation.

『I already finished confirming that it’s possible from our quarrel  last time. Not only the effect on me, even the time stop on the minion  serving me can be dispelled with this way.』

「Now that you mention it, something like that also happened wasn’t it!?」

Ren was losing his cool. Alec’s gloating voice added an additional blow.

『Fufufufu. Play with it again when it reactivate.』

「That’s not funny-. Ren, let’s get out of this room!」

「Roger!」

Urged by his partner on his left shoulder, Ren began to quickly run from inside the room.

Without stopping Ren sprinted through the underground city space. He  was trying to open enough distance from the time stopped Magic Sphere of  Avarice──

Suddenly, he felt a stinging sensation on the back of his neck.

In that instant, Ren threw his body on the labyrinth’s ground. Then, a  sharp blade passed through the space where Rokuhara Ren’s neck was  located in less than a second ago.

A large scythe like what a death god would wield was being swung around by someone.

Yes──from behind the running Ren.

That thing slipped out from the labyrinth’s wall without any warning  sign. It skillfully wielded the large scythe to behead Ren’s neck.

He was able to dodge only because his animalistic instinct told him of the danger.

Ren rolled on the ground while deftly getting back on his feet to prepare against the attacker’s next attack.

「What was that just now!?」

「That’s that sexy guy’s minion! It’s the same one like what appeared  at the sea last time──it was also the one that dragged Ren to here from  above!」

Size wise it wasn’t that much different from human.

It was wearing a female gown with opened back. However, there were  pure white bird wings growing on its back. Furthermore its lower body  was fused with large snake body.

That female creature was only showing its back toward Ren and Stella as it vanished into the wall──.

「That lady, is she able to can enter into anywhere!?」

『Something like that. But, her only fault is her shyness. The time  she can keep you company isn’t really long. Be aware of that.』

A “heavenly voice” came from Alec again.

Ren shuddered. Rather, it would be easier to deal with the attack if  it came from the front. It was scarier to face an opponent that appeared  and vanished repeatedly while launching a surprise attack.

Sooner or later the time would come where he failed to dodge and got beheaded──.

『Anyway, I have prepared the greatest reception for you. It will be my pleasure if you can enjoy it.』

「Are you planning to torture me slowly like this before finishing me off!?」

『No. I’m different from the other Campiones. I won’t do that kind of  brutish act. But……you are quite a, no, a very troublesome fellow.』

Most likely Alec should be smirking right now.

Ren could easily imagine the expression of this powerful enemy who wouldn’t show himself at all.

『I believe that I mustn’t be in a hurry to repay you for the last  time. I invited you especially to this tailor made vacation home with  the intention of stripping out all of the abilities you are hiding so  that I can decide how should I deal with you later. That’s why, you can  take it nice and easy here.』

「It doesn’t look like there is any water or food anywhere in this vacation home you know!?」

『Certainly I haven’t made any preparation for that. If needed please procure them on your own.』

Alec announced curtly.

Ren was speechless. Unlike all the other Campiones that he had  encountered before this, Black Prince Alec was confronting him with  surprise attack or bizarre plan to an unpleasant degree.

Ren himself regarded himself as someone who was good in befuddling other people.

However, Alec went far further than him in that regard. In addition,  he was determined. He wouldn’t appear before Rokuhara Ren──there  couldn’t be any better countermeasure against a magic eye than this.

Ren still hadn’t showed the full scope of the Magic Eye of Time Stop.

That preparedness should become the key that decided a direct  confrontation against a Campione without fail, and yet he never expected  to face this kind of countermeasure.

On top of that, he couldn’t communicate with Riona who should be on the surface.

He couldn’t hold telepathic communication like usual, so his  authority Wing of Oath didn’t function. It was just like when he got  locked inside sect founder Luo Hao’s barrier space before.

This too was most likely the effect of this so called labyrinth authority.

「Oh man, I’ll only get toyed around with if I don’t get serious here……」

Ren muttered with a subdued tone. There was a seriousness that he rarely showed there.

.

Part 2

Claw Archipelago, Island One.

Compared to the other islands, the population here was extremely few,  and it had a lot of desert and wasteland that were desolate as well as  deserted, and terrains of bald mountain full of rock.

However inside the mountain range where there was only treeless hill,  there was a mountain that was unusually covered with green trees.

Yatagarasu/Toba Riona who was flying in deep distress and weariness  caught sight of the mountain stream flowing deep inside that mountain  and slowly descended.

There was also a small waterfall there, so she landed down near its basin.

When she stepped on the ground she wasn’t in the form of divine bird Yatagarasu anymore, but a high school girl in uniform.

Right beside her, Mononobe Yukino also appeared in her uniform appearance.

「Onee-sama, are you alright!?」

「S-somehow. It has been a long time since I got into that kind of  predicament……. To think there is a monster hunter who will target this  me like a hunting prey──」

Riona was breathing hard. Yukino nestled close to her.

Because of desperate escape where they only barely got away,  Onee-sama got a dark circle formed deeply under her eyes. Yukino helped  her sat on a rock nearby seeing how extremely fatigued she was.

After that, Yukino herself──drew out the divine sword of salvation.

「W-what are you doing?」

「This time, it looks like it’s my turn to protect Onee-sama. Actually  there is something that has been sticking on us this whole time. It  bothered me. That thing parted away when Onee-sama returned to that  form──」

Yukino explained while staring at the one tailing them.

They slipped into the feathers of divine bird Yatagarasu and followed  them until here. The thing that parted away from Riona when she  returned to her high school girl form.

Yukino’s gaze stopped at a white thrush that was perching on a branch of an evergreen tree.

She pointed the divine sword of salvation at that adorable little bird.

*Pachin!*

The white thrush was hit by the lightning that ran out from the sword’s tip and fell down from the branch.

However the small bird transformed into a paper talisman while  falling down. The paper had been burned in some places, but there was  symbol and spells written on it with ink.

Furthermore, one of the spells was like this 『』. Those were kanji.

「Shikigami──! That’s a shikigami that was made by an onmyouji or a  sorcerer somewhere. Even if that’s not the case, there is no doubt that  it’s something similar with !」

Riona who was also an onmyouji herself was shocked.

Right after that, a voice came from the burnt talisman.

『Ahaha, spot on. I got concerned when I saw two girls in trouble.』

It was a female voice that sounded really lively.

Almost at the same time with that, *Doon!* there was a roaring sound.  It was the sound of something shiny came flying from the sky far beyond  and stabbed into the ground before them.

「──Sword!?」

Yukino gulped.

If it was just the shape then it looked really similar with Japanese  katana. The gentle curve of the blade, the workmanship of the guard,  they were in the style of katana. However, the blade was jet black.

Yumiko’s instinct as a heaven sent child of a sword god told her. This sword wasn’t a Japanese katana despite its similar shape.

This sword was even older than that──it was a quality sword from the age of the gods.

And then, there was the terrific divine power that the black sword  before her was bursting with. It was a divine sword that should be  wielded by the gods, and it was a proof that this sword itself was a  divinity.

It seemed Riona had also realized the sword’s divinity. She was staring in mute amazement.

「Something outrageous suddenly dropped down……」

「It seems to be a divine sword with extremely great pedigree……」

「To realize that from a glance, as expected. Yep. This guy is Ama no  Murakumo no Tsurugi──will you believe me if I tell you that?」

A sphere of light floated out from the black divine sword.

That light immediately transformed into the form of a young woman. She gave a wide friendly smile to Yukino and Riona.

Black mountain jacket, white sweatshirt, and grey leggings.

The girl with long black hair was clearly an Earthian from the way she dressed. She greeted them with Japanese language.

「I’m Seishuuin Ena. I’m from Japan but, I think I’m from the Japan of different world than you two.」

「Guess so……. My Toba Clan also has a relative of Seishuuin Clan, but they are an old established family of sorcery.」

Riona spoke while pondering.

「There wasn’t anybody like you Onee-san there as far as I know.」

「Yeah. There are similar family lineages across the parallel worlds.  Yep yep, I have heard about it before. Actually this Ena-oneesan is also  quite knowledgeable about that multiverse situation. After all I’m also  a shrine maiden, so I’m really knowledgeable.」

Seishuuin Ena seemed to be a very amiable person.

She casually introduced herself like that before making a shocking statement.

「Recently I’m also working as that Aisha-san’s guard because of reasons.」

「Guard!? That means as expected, you’re going to try to capture us!?」

Yukino raised her guard. However Ena laughed lightly.

「Nope nope. I’m not going to do that. Other than being her guard I’m  also monitoring her after all. It’s not like I’m that person’s underling  or daughter.」

「I-is that so?」

「Yeah. Rather my actual position is more like the shock corps captain from the faction of that person’s rival.」

「That sounds real complicated……」

This was their first time meeting but they were having a lively talk without feeling any discomfort.

Yukino was instinctually harboring a good will toward Seishuuin Ena  who was a shrine maiden. She felt it when Ena appeared together with the  divine sword Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi.

This woman, she wasn’t a god’s descendant. However she was obviously an existence of 『this side』.

She was close of being a god despite being human──this woman was someone in that kind of position.

「In the first place, that Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi. It doesn’t look  like something that an ordinary human can handle at all……. Ena-san can  use it really well aren’t you?」

Just now she even fused with the jet black divine sword and came flying from the sky.

Surely she was able to do many feats that were more than simply  swinging the sword as a weapon. Perhaps this person was a powerful human  whose level was close to god’s descendant like Riona or her?

Yukino held such guess. Ena grinned brightly to her.

「I’m quite the veteran despite my appearance after all. I have also  experienced a lot of things like helping out in a battle between god and  godslayer, and I also have a lot of acquaintances and friends.  ……Actually you see. There are these various reasons about that, so  Onee-san want to help out you two.」

「Various, reasons? With us?」

Riona was puzzled.

「I’m Toba Riona. This is Mononobe Yukino. Onee-san should be  completely unrelated with us, and I don’t think we ever had any chance  meeting in the past that could lead to you lending us a hand now──」

「There is.」

Ena smiled complacently like a sunflower and stared at Yukino.

「I heard and saw it. Those bow and quiver──their former owner, your teacher, he is the best friend of my husband.」

「What did you sayyy!?」

Yukino bent backward from too much shock.

「M-Momotarou-sensei and Onee-san’s husband are-!?」

「Hee. So Prince Rama introduced himself like that now.」

Ena nodded with a look of know-it-all.

Certainly her claim sounded persuasive when she mentioned the heroic  name of Rama so casually. Yukino pitched forward eagerly to listen more.

「Well, there are many parallel worlds, so the manifestation of Prince  Rama might not be limited to just one but, there is absolutely no way I  can mistake that bow. If its owner was the hero Rama, then he is  definitely that person, the King of the End and also the hero of devil  king extermination that we met in the past.」

「Onee-san, you know about Momotarou-sensei when he was a hero!?」

Yukino’s wariness toward Ena had completely gone down. She was looking at her with a gaze of envy.

「Amazing! I’m jealous!」

「Well, the one who fought with that person was mostly my husband,  while Ena and others only watched from afar……even so we were still able  to experience his extraordinary might keenly.」

Ena talked about the past in deep nostalgia. Riona suddenly cut in.

「Then──what do you think Yukino is lacking in compared to that  outstandingly mighty honorable teacher? What is needed in order for her  to level up as a hero?」

「T-that’s it, Onee-sama!」

They managed to encounter somehow who knew about the genuine messiah by chance.

Yukino’s expression brightened up hearing Riona’s intelligent question.

「What she is lacking huh……」

Ena pondered the sudden question.

「Even if you ask Ena-oneesan that, it’s a difficult question. Prince  Rama was perfect in everything, after all he was a god who had the  『status』 as the supreme hero. He isn’t just the foremost grand hero of  India mythology. At the orient, his legend even resounds to every corner  of Asia as the top class hero──」

「As I thought, Yukino’s teacher was really 『that Rama』.」

Riona nodded deeply.

「I only had the information that his name was Rama and he was a bow  user, so even I couldn’t grasp the full picture completely. But,  certainly it completely make sense if it’s 『that Rama』.」

「Momotarou-sensei was actually that famous as a hero……」

Ena flashed a wide smile at the flinching Yukino.

「By the way, it seems that there is actually a possibility that  Prince Rama’s legend also influenced Japan’s legend of Momotarou.」

「No way──!?」

「If that’s true then it’s becoming even more unlikely to use him as  reference for Yukino. Mononobe Yukino is the reincarnation of sword god  Take Mikadzuchi in the end. Her type is just too different from Prince  Rama who was a wandering hero for the sake of exterminating the Rakshasa  King.」

「Take Mikadzuchi?」

Ena reacted to the god’s name that Riona muttered.

She suddenly took up the katana sheath that she placed beside her. The divine sword Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi was stored in it.

「Say that from the start! If that’s the case then Ama no Murakumo will be helpful for you!」

「Eh? This sword will……?」

The jet black divine sword that Ena pulled out. Yukino stared at that ominous blade.

.

You should try talking with Ama no Murakumo──.

With Ena’s recommendation, Yukino ended up facing the treasured sword of Japan.

The location was still beside the waterfall basin. But Riona and Ena  had temporarily left that place to leave Mononobe Yukino alone.

No──there was also Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi stabbed on the ground in front of her.

「Ama no Murakumo-san, let’s talk a bit with me♪」

For now she tried talking with it cheerfully.

However there wasn’t any reaction. Yukino got irritated, but she gave it another try.

「Ena-oneesan also said all that. I know as a god’s descendant. You’re  also a god in the shape of sword……. Please teach me something,  anything, like the mentality needed to be a savior, or a warning, or  coaching.」

As expected there was no reaction. Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi simply stayed stabbed on the ground silently.

Yukino understood with her instinct as a reincarnation of sword god.  There was no need to question whether a sword could hear or not, her  voice had definitely reached Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi’s soul.

And yet, this strangely stubborn god sword was ignoring her.

「Uuuuuu. In that case, I’ll definitely make you talk at any cost!」

Yukino stomped angrily toward the jet black divine sword.

She crouched slightly, pressed her forehead on the handle that was  intentionally arranged to look like a Japanese katana, and she sent her  thought into the sword strongly……!

(Come on! Let’s have a long talk alone with me!)

(You……are annoying, little girl!)

The thought that Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi sent back to her was extremely brusque.

(There is nothing to talk about when we aren’t even in the middle of  battle! Don’t bother me with other thing than a fight, this damn fool!)

(You called me a fool~~~~~!?)

(Of course! You don’t even understand that principle despite being a sword god too, there is a limit even in being dimwit!)

The conversation was finished with that.

After that, no matter how hard Yukino tried sending in her thought,  no matter how loud she raised her voice, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi  wouldn’t show any reaction at all.

「What do you mean that I’m a dimwit!? That’s not a nice thing to say at all!」

When Yukino displayed her indignation like that.

She realized with a taken aback look. 『Being a sword god too』. Ama no  Murakumo no Tsurugi definitely said that to her. Yes. Take Mikadzuchi  was also said to be an existence of a sword itself that got deified.

In that respect, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi and Take Mikadzuchi could be said as the same.

「Ama no Murakumo-san said, not to disturb him for anything other than battle.」

He clearly declared that.

There should be a limit in being lazy. However, that mentality of  solely specializing in battle and not wanting to be involved with any  other triviality at the slightest──

She noticed that for some reason there was a part of her that could sympathize with that.

Come to think of it, in her last practice with Momotarou-sensei. Didn’t she get enlightened at that time?

「Sublimate all your feelings in order to utterly become a『sword』……」

That was the only way for the heaven sent child of sword god, Mononobe Yukino to be able to oppose her handsome teacher──.

Sword. Sword. If she had similar type of divinity with Ama no  Murakumo no Tsurugi Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, what was necessary in  order to polish her origin as a sword god was……!

「It’s not enough to just swing a sword with this hand.」

She smoothly pulled out the divine sword of salvation Take Mikadzuchi from her left hand.

She should have noticed from the start when she realized that her body itself was a『sheath』.

The light of divine protection was radiated from the divine sword  like usual. It covered Yukino’s body and turned into a solid protective  barrier.

「My whole body, this body itself should be formed──into the divine sword of salvation!」

The light of divine protection protecting Yukino vanished……no.

The light was absorbed into her body fully. Right now Mononobe  Yukino’s skin was tinged with luster. It was like there was metallic  luster dwelling in her skin.

She tested using the divine sword of salvation that her right hand was holding and slashed *Bun-*.

At her own left hand. In actuality──her left forearm should be  separated for eternity from her left arm with the speed and strength of  her slash.

However, the slash was blocked with a hard feedback and metallic sound of *Clang!*.

Yukino’s skin itself blocked the divine sword’s blade. Also from the  moment just now, the spiritual power dwelling inside her body and heart  swelled up to be more than double.

Right now even without the Super Saiyan method, she could use her teacher’s bow and quiver!

Yukino was convinced of that and clenched her left fist tightly.

.

Part 3

「S-she suddenly got an awakening somehow-」

Riona was observing Yukino from slight distance away.

Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi was stabbed on the ground beside the  waterfall basin. There Mononobe Yukino stared at Japan’s greatest divine  sword for a while like a child playing staring-out game.

Then suddenly vast magic power welled up from Yukino’s body.

It was even to a degree that wasn’t at all compared to Campiones or  gods. The magic power was so powerful that it already completely  surpassed the territory of god’s descendant.

And then Yukino swung the divine sword of salvation to sever her own left arm──

「The katana rebounded with clanging sound! Is that girl’s body turning into super alloy metal!?」

「Because, a sword god is an existence of steel sword itself getting  deified……it’s only natural that her body is tough like steel. That type  of gods all have some kind of immortality like that.」

Ena talked calmly in contrast to the panicking Riona.

However she was the reincarnation of Yatagarasu and a talented woman  with keen mind. What Ena said was something that she had known since a  long time ago, so Riona continued further.

「Well, it’s just as you said, but, just now Yukino was only getting ignored by Ama no Murakumo-san──」

Riona was also reading the telepathic exchange between the two.

How was Yukino able to power up just from getting treated curtly like  that? She was astonished by the strange and incomprehensible situation.  Seishuuin Ena flashed a wide smile at her.

「She noticed it right away, as to be expected from the reincarnation  of Take no Mikadzuchi. She realized that the one who she should imitate  isn’t Prince Rama, but Ama no Murakumo.」

「By that, you mean?」

「The sword gods you see, the more pure-blooded and closer to their  『ancient origin』 they are, the simpler they will be. They won’t have any  complicated thought. They feel like a battle junkie or someone who can  rush forward recklessly. In comparison, 『hybrid』 like Prince Rama or war  god Verethragna of ancient Persia whose sword divinity is mixed with  various other divinities will be more prudent and thoughtful……」

「I see……」

「The lot that became a god as sword itself is totally devoted to battle in general.」

「So to put it another way, they are a dimwitted lot who discarded any notion of thinking.」

Riona completely grasped Ena’s teaching.

As expected, in this area, such opinion was befitting a “veteran” who  had experienced numerous battles where gods and godslayers were jumbled  together.

The number of sword god that Riona had encountered was few. It felt like the scale had fallen from her eyes from this.

And then she muttered with a serious thought.

「I knew that she is completely an『ultimate musclebrain』 or  『excessively simple idiot』, but there is actually a proper reason behind  that……. Rather it might be the natural development for her to grow to  be like that because her nature as sword god is influencing her  strongly.」

「Ahahahaha」

Ena gave a lighthearted laugh at Riona’s words.

「You’re a really honest person with sharp tongue. Onee-san doesn’t hate someone like that you know.」

「Good to hear. By the way just now, the name War God Verethragna suddenly came out. Is it related with the incident this time?」

「Ah, you didn’t notice? By that of course ──」

When the conversation of the two women was getting lively.

(Kukukuku……)

The blowing gale brought a meaningful laugh with it.

It was a familiar voice. It was the cause that made them ran away for  dear life. It was undoubtedly the beautiful voice of the young man,  Kushanagi Godo.

(Girls, so you ran until this kind of place. Good effort, good effort.)

The young man’s voice talked with delight.

Riona and Ena nodded to each other. Surely the young man commanded  the flowing wind to search for the fleeing Yatagarasu and hero.

That owner of variegated authorities also had the divinity of wind.

(I too shall rush to there now. Fufufufu, I won’t make all of you  wait so don’t worry. I am the god who come along with the gale to  display justice and victory to the world──)

「There is no need for that!」

It was Yukino who replied to the proclamation of Kushanagi Godo.

The awakened girl also heard the voice that was brought by the wind.  The energetic maiden raised her voice to the sky heroically.

「This time we’re going to be the one marching there! It won’t take that long, so wash your neck while waiting for us!」

「You’re going, Yukino!?」

「Yes! Come with me too Onee-sama!」

As soon as she said that, Mononobe Yukino turned into lightning and flew away.

She flew straight toward the duel arena where she was defeated just a  short while ago in order to stand there again. Riona also hurriedly  gestured to Seishuuin Ena to get closer and used flying magic.

They got enveloped in a blue light and desperately chased the soaring lightning──.

「I hope she won’t get carried away and blunder……」

「No no, that kind of kid will instead」

In respond to the worrying Riona, Ena made a comment that was befitting a veteran warrior of many battles.

「Become stronger than they usually are when getting carried away.」

.

And then they were at the desert of ruin once more.

Yukino crossed the distance of more than 100 km in one go by  transforming into soaring lightning. She descended on the ground with  the roaring of thunder behind her.

It was the ancient ruin where she encountered that Madam Aisha.

Sure enough the godslaying witch and the young man Kushanagi Godo were also there.

「Fuh──. That little girl certainly arrive here very quickly.」

「This is exactly like the saying of a moth flying into the flame! Please beat them up, Kushanagi Godo-sama! ……Wait, eh?」

The faintly smiling young man, and the founder of anti fate religion who was burning with fighting spirit.

However Madam Aisha was puzzled seeing the two girls who arrived a bit later from Yukino.

「Why is Ena-san at that side too?」

「Ahaha, that’s because I want to side with these girls this time. I’m  taking a break from being Aisha-san’s guard to cheer for them.」

Seishuuin Ena who was standing beside Riona lightly announced that.

「My work as Aisha-san’s guard is simply a volunteer work after all.」

「Uuuuu, what you’re saying isn’t wrong, so I can’t raise any objection, but-. What kind of lighthearted betrayal is this!?」

In any case, the two camps faced each other.

However, it seemed that Ena didn’t intend to go as far as assisting  the two girls by personally joining the fight. She leaped nimbly like a  monkey and landed on the shrine’s roof.

「Well, no choice but to do it after coming this far.」

Riona who was standing behind Yukino spoke candidly.

「First let’s show them fully the true strength of Yukino who has gone through a super awakening!」

「Yes! My courage is a hundred times bigger if Onee-sama is watching over me!」

Yukino walked forward briskly.

In contrast Kushanagi Godo also walked forward with composure.

They were standing on the stone stage──a spacious altar that seemed  to be used for ritual in the past. The two finally stood face to face  against each other at the center of it.

They were so close that if they took a large step forward and swung their sword, they would reach their opponent.

It was truly the range of sword fighting. Yukino glared at her enemy  while Kushanagi Godo brushed off her stare with a composed smile.

「Is it okay that you don’t use Momotarou-sensei’s bow and arrow?」

「They are great weapons, but it’ll also be pathetic if I only rely on  borrowed items. I also haven’t even displayed half of my Ten Avatars……」

「Ten avatars, you say?」

「Umu. I have displayed the avatars of gale, boar, and goat. Then next is──」

Yukino gasped in surprise.

The small young man instantly──transformed into a brawny bull.

The bull’s head was in the height that Yukino who was around 160 cm  high had to look up to see it. The bull’s height seemed to be more than  three meters.

The bull’s fur was golden. Its physique was also splendid, but its muscle undulation was terrific.

This kind of bull suddenly charged at her from such close distance!  Furthermore it lowered its body to gore Yukino’s body with the two sharp  horns on its head!

「W-what monstrous power──!?」

「Hou, you did well blocking this!」

The young man’s beautiful voice came out from the bull’s mouth.

It was a praise at Yukino’s reaction. She instantly crossed both her arms to form an arm block against the charge.

The hands that had obtained the toughness of steel stopped the bull’s horn with a clang.

However the bull didn’t stop there and tried to continue charging  forward. In respond Yukino utilized the strength of her whole  body──especially her legs and torso to push back.

But, even then she was gradually getting pushed back.

Even though now that she had awakened as the sword god Take  Mikadzuchi, her physical strength had been elevated to an incomparable  degree than before!

It was an unexpected development. Yukino was greatly anxious.

「……You can exert this much power just from turning into a bull!?」

「For I am the strongest amoungst the strong, crushing all those who  wouldst stand in my way. Now is the time, that I obtain the strength of  ten bulls, the strength of ten mountains, the strength of ten great  rivers──!」

The young man’s voice chanted words that sounded like some kind of scripture.

Yukino felt the bull’s power was going up bit by bit. She wouldn’t be able to hold on at this rate──then!

「TEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!」

Yukino’s whole body began to radiate electricity.

Then she got enveloped in lightning and leaped high to the sky. She  did it while holding the bull’s neck and brought it together with her.

She jumped high to dozens of meter above together with the mightily powerful bull──.

It was a feat of strength that made use of the explosive power of 『lightning』 that Take Mikadzuchi radiated.

In addition Yukino performed a 『throw』 from midair.

There was a pro wrestling technique to hold the opponent and throw  them on the mat──she threw the raging bull’s huge body to the ground  below using the same principle.

The throw was splendidly executed and the golden bull fell.

「Hou, that was a pretty good attack!」

「Not yettt! Divine sword of salvation Take Mikadzuchi, it’s your turn!」

The raging bull──Kushanagi Godo easily got back on its feet even  after getting slammed on the ground and gave such a composed comment.  Yukino targeted him.

Yukino radiated electricity from her whole body while becoming a lightning that descended down from the sky.

She unsheathed the divine sword of salvation from her left hand and swung it down toward the bull’s back.

She could stab him in her current state! Yukino’s conviction was overturned by the nth time transformation of Kushanagi Godo.

This time──he transformed into a camel and leaped to the side with an astounding agility.

The camel was about three meter long. The impression she got from the  camel was that it had a standard body shape as a camel, but the camel’s  expression was terribly fierce.

And then Yukino was shocked.

The camel suddenly stood up with only its rear legs──

「Eh……!?」

It used its two front legs at her like『hands』.

The divine sword that Yukino held in front of her body toward the  camel, its blade got slapped aside with a keening sound by the right  front leg while the left front leg let out a straight punch!

The movement was terrifyingly like a hand-to-hand fighting even though it was a camel.

The overly novel『left straight』 was dodged by Yukino by moving her body diagonally forward.

She planned to counterattack immediately after dodging the incoming attack.

But, the camel saw through that and leaped backward to open a  distance from Yukino. Not only that, its huge body rotated while  unleashing a back spinning kick!

The attack from the camel’s rear leg was blocked by Yukino using a cross arm block again.

「Kuuuuuuuuh!」

The kick’s impact was horrible. Her right hand almost let go of the divine sword in its grasp.

However the camel’s limbs also had a hardness like steel.

「Even so it’s impossible for me to lose if we’re competing in martial arts!」

「I see. Then what if I do this?」

In respond to Yukino’s challenge, a provocative transformation began.

The camel──transformed into a bird of prey that looked similar with a hawk and soared to the sky.

She couldn’t possibly slash at midair target. Yukino pointed the  divine sword to the sky. Lightning attack was fired in succession from  the tip.

* Doon! Doon! Doon! Doon! Doon!*

The lightning attacked in succession. The barrage burned the sky with  its flashes. Even for a winged bird of prey, it could only end up as a  grilled chicken now that the area around it became a cage filled with  electric heat.

But──the raptor’s speed wasn’t ordinary.

It flew with a speed that was literally like lightning and broke through the cage of lightning.

「Excellent work in awakening yourself as a sword god of steel. Then, how will you deal with this!?」

The raptor hovered midair and transformed into a radiant white stallion.

The horse’s body radiated an aura of light. A shiver ran through Yukino’s spine. She felt an instinctual terror and shuddered.

「For victory, hasten forth before me. O stallion that moveth godlike  with wondrous grace, bringest forth the halo of thy master!」

「KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH───!?」

Horrifically intense flame rained down from the sky.

A pillar of fire was formed by the words of power of White Stallion. It assaulted Yukino on the ground.

The conflagration of divine flame showed no sign of ending at all.  Exposed to that scorching heat, Mononobe Yukino who should be boasting  the toughness of steel was wracked with intense pain for the first time!

「Aaaaaaa……hot! My body, it’s melting!?」

「Kukukuku. Whether it’s iron or bronze, what follows after they got exposed to heat in the end is to melt.」

The white stallion boasted of its victory with the young man’s voice as usual.

Yukino was in a state that was the same as getting thrown into a  blast furnace. Her whole body completely turned red and it looked like  she was going to start melting anytime soon.

She was just barely maintaining her original shape, but how long she would be able to keep it──. However.

「I won’t be able to call myself a woman if I lose here……I’ll show you my guts!」

「Oo!?」

The fire pillar was finally extinguished.

It was only logical for flame to stop burning sooner or later.  Believing in that, Yukino earnestly endured and she finally managed to  get through it.

Then──the white stallion descended from the sky and returned into the form of young man.

「Let me state this, as expected from the hero of devil king  extermination. Kukukuku, though you wouldn’t be able to endure like that  if not due to the Great Law of the Covenant increasing your strength……」

Kushanagi Godo gave a meaningful smile while waving his hand.

A black steel bow appeared on his right hand. The black wooden quiver  appeared beside his left leg. They were the weapons of Yukino’s  teacher, Hero Rama.

「In that case, it will also be amusing to compete in our caliber as great hero.」

The young man boasted like that with a beautiful face that was shining with a hero’s pride.

.

Part 4

With Rokuhara Ren who was wandering through the underground labyrinth with Stella who was sitting on his left shoulder.

The godslayer and mini goddess of love were in the middle of getting caught in traps one after another.

「Uwaah!? This time the floor is──!」

「Geez, this guy keep thinking of nothing but nasty tricks one after  another! His character is really twisted even though he has a handsome  face!」

It was when they were walking through an open space.

It was a space that looked similar with the indoor space of a dome  stadium. The ceiling was also high without anything inside. Ren and  Stella were in a wide space that could even be used to play baseball.

They observed their front, back, left, right, and then the ceiling──

When suddenly the floor crumbled beneath them.

Furthermore it wasn’t just below Ren’s feet, but the whole surface of  this spacious area. The brick floor suddenly cracked, crumble, and  rapidly fell to below.

Under the crumbling floor was also  a vast cave.

Even for Ren who was proud of his nimbleness, he was helpless when  the whole floor was crumbling under him. He could only fall together  with the mountain of bricks that were transformed into rubbles.

But, it felt like the speed of Ren and Stella falling together with the rubbles was terrifyingly too fast.

Ren and Stella were falling with a speed that was three times faster  of normal falling speed. It was as though there was something on the  bottom pulling at them──

「Wait, I see!」

「Look at that, Ren! That’s the magic sphere of that sexy guy!」

Ren realized. At the same time Stella pointed below from his left shoulder.

The Magic Sphere of Avarice was placed around fifty or sixty meters  below them. It waited until Ren came right above it and directed its  suction power that sucked everything to him.

「Time stop!」

Ren’s left eye let out a rainbow luster.

That light spread until its filled the whole underground space up and  above. Not only the Magic Sphere of Avarice, even all the rubbles, big  and small that were falling in high speed also got frozen.

Ren’s nimbleness finally could come into play at this point.

「Yo-. Ha-. Yo-……!」

There were countless rubbles frozen in the air.

Ren chose the relatively big rubbles and jumped across them.  Naturally he could only fall below if his feet slipped. He encouraged  himself by yelling each time he jumped.

「R-Ren!? Be careful so you don’t fall okay!」

「It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m good with this kind of thing. You know that right?」

『Certainly, you have a good movement.』

The heavenly voice suddenly came. Alec finally talked to him again after so long.

『Looks like you’re blessed with very good reflexes. ……But, it also  feels like your movement is a bit too good. It’s very interesting.』

「Don’t say that. Despite my look, I’m really skilled in sports you know?」

Ren answered the inquiring voice of the Black Prince while jumping.

It was quite a long time ago but, before Riona got turned into a blue bird, she once stared fixedly at him and said,

『Rokuhara-san’s agility is like a character of Ghibl* anime that it  feels disgusting instead. It gives me too much discomfort when seeing  such unnatural movement that ignore gravity in real life……』

That was her evaluation. This movement was something that he was proud of.

Ren spoke to Alec whose whereabouts was unknown with a lively tone.

「Don’t think that everything is always because of Campione’s power!」

『I see. Then let’s just say I believe you. The one definite fact here  is that your magic eye is able to exert its influence even in very wide  range.』

「Hahaha……」

Ren intended to laugh cheerfully, but it became a slightly dry laugh.

Rokuhara Ren who had lighthearted character as his merit was being  toyed with to this degree. Alexander Gascoigne, he was an opponent that  was more difficult than expected.

Ren and Stella who were completely occupied with enduring this predicament started wandering inside the labyrinth again.

And then──this time the situation was a complete reversal from  before. They were getting lost inside a complicated maze of narrow  corridors. After walking for a while, Stella suddenly gave a warning.

「That dour woman is coming again, be careful!」

「Got it!」

He could only see her silhouette or back figure, but it seemed the  creature had a female gender. Stella had become completely sensitive  against her presence.

In this regard, it was just as expected from the spiritual sense of a former goddess.

The warned Ren widened his feet to the side and straightened his upper body in preparation of the coming attack.

It was the stance of an outboxer who used footwork. He already got  attacked several times since he began wandering inside the labyrinth.

The female creature always came attacking from a particular angle, like behind or above. This time──

「It’s from the front this time!?」

The female creature became fist sized and flew at Ren’s face.

It seemed her upper body was a slender woman, but she had wings and  her lower body was like a snake. Her body size was different each time  she came. There was a time when she was gigantic like a sailing ship,  and now she was so tiny like a human’s clenched fist.

And then the woman──charged toward his face with a speed that was like a flash!

Ren dodged it just barely before she hit him.

He slanted his head. It was a defense that was called head slip in combat sport.

The winged woman creature flew behind Ren. This time she flew around  to every direction, or zigzagged through the corridor to bewilder him.

Even Ren who was confident of his dynamic vision couldn’t catch her movement because she was too fast.

「You said that she is a shy person? She is really showing off here though!」

「……No. That’s not it Ren. This thing, it will be inconvenient for her if her bare face got seen.」

The small goddess sitting on his left shoulder spoke without hesitation.

「Perhaps she will have to vanish or won’t be able to move if her bare face is seen. I’m feeling that kind of binding from her!」

「Hee! That’s a good information, thanks Stella!」

In that case, magic eye activated. Ren immediately stared at the creature that stopped in midair.

But, the small half human half snake monster already popped off in  that instant. Alec’s implicating chuckle immediately came down after  that.

『Fufufufu……. Your partner, she is sharper than I thought.』

「Naturally! Don’t look down on a woman’s instinct, especially a goddess’s instinct!」

「By the way Alec. I also noticed something──could it be, you can  freely position your subordinate monster if it’s inside this labyrinth?  Like placing them or taking them back as you please……」

Ren was already convinced that it was a fact even though he asked that.

Putting aside the winged woman, the movement speed of the Magic  Sphere of Avarice was really slow. And yet that thing was also showing  up anywhere that he wondered if there was more than one of that thing.

However he realized that wasn’t the case after seeing that woman creature suddenly vanishing just now.

『Of that. It’s meager but, it’s a special privilege as the dungeon master.』

Alec easily admitted it.

Most likely he judged that he would be able to exhaust the mental  strength of Ren and Stella more by admitting that fact. In fact,  Stella’s expression turned weary from hearing that.

「This place is really worthless. I’m thirsty, and my stomach is also empty……」

「Then, let’s find a nice place somewhere and take a break.」

And then ten minutes later.

Ren and Stella reached a spacious room where there were several  rectangle stones lined up and took a break there. The rectangle stones  could be considered as bench.

Ren sat on one of the stones and reached out to food and drink.

『Hoou……?』

The heavenly voice from Alec contained a puzzled tone for the first time.

『I can’t believe I overlooked that. Where did you take out those  overly extravagant emergency rations from? It doesn’t look like your bag  can possibly contain all of those……』

「Hmph. A goddess of beauty and love must have a dining table worthy of one’s status.」

「Yep yep. We are prepared people.」

Stella brought a cup of tea to her mouth with a composed expression. Ren was snacking on a sandwich.

A set of afternoon tea was lined up in front of them.

The tea pot that was filled with hot black tea, the cups, all of them  were made from ceramic. Furthermore the cup that Stella used was order  made to be doll sized.

The sandwiches were placed on a platter in a size that could be pinched with finger.

The ingredients were cucumber, cream cheese, salmon, ham, etc. There  were a lot of variety. Ren used the knife he carried to cut the sandwich  so Stella could take a bite of them.

There were freshly baked scones that were still piping hot. They were accompanied by clotted cream.

Ren and Stella enjoyed snacks that were too out of place for a labyrinth exploration while secretly starting a strategy meeting.

The conversation happened inside their mind without making any voice.

(……So Stella. We already tried walking everywhere, what do you think?)

(It’s just as I predicted. The divine power of goddess of revenge are  dwelling here and there──no, perhaps in all over this whole labyrinth.)

(Goddess of revenge!? Like my Nemesis-san?)

(It’s definitely the same type.)

(……Then, as expected, Alec also has counter.)

(Yes. It’s an authority that reflected back his opponent’s attack or  curse entirely. Surely he placed that power in a place of his choosing  as a trap.)

(And this time we got dragged here from the location that was placed on……)

Ren wasn’t wandering inside the labyrinth aimlessly.

They too were investigating Alec’s hands in their own way. He  surmised that his showdown with the Black Prince would surely become a  battle of taking each other by surprise.

And then actually──Ren had an ace up his sleeve that could take him out of this environment.

(There is no doubt that sexy guy is lurking somewhere in this labyrinth.)

(Yep. That means, if I widen the range of the time stop to cover this  whole dungeon, I should be able to stop Alec’s time too without fail.  But……)

(It feels like that guy is waiting for that isn’t he? He has that kind of nasty personality after all.)

(As I thought, you also think so.)

Ren deeply agreed with his partner’s opinion.

Stella was also a goddess of love. She was very formidable when it came to romance.

Love strategy or battle of intrigues where love and hate whirled into  a jumble, they were also her forte. She was a reliable consultant in  their current situation that was developing into a psychological warfare  against Alec.

(The labyrinth is really vast, so I’ll get dog tired if I try that.)

Before this when he found Madam Aisha, he froze a whole city.

After that he got weary to the bone and became unable to move for a  while. His magic eye had a lot of risks. However, Ren finally resolved  himself.

(But, let’s step into his trap instead. It’s going to be the right time soon.)

(Right! I’m also fed up already with this gloomy labyrinth, so let’s gamble big!)

They finished devouring the afternoon tea’s tea and snacks. Their nutrition resupply was sufficient.

Ren stood up straight and he suddenly activated his magic eye.

The rainbow radiance that his left eye radiated, it penetrated  through the wide space they were in right now──and even through the wall  and ceiling, the floor, and it still continued into the room and  corridor ahead.

「No matter where Alec is hiding, his time will be stopped with this! Here we go!」

『I see. So you chose this method in the end.』

The heavenly voice came down from the ceiling.

However, that wasn’t a guarantee that Alec was above. The Campione whose whereabouts was unknown declared boldly.

『I surmised that there are around four final options that you can  possibly choose but, in the end you chose the most decisive option. I  see, so you have that kind of personality.』

「Both Stella and me aren’t good with doing things slow and steady!」

『That’s not the case with me. I’m the type to steadily prepare the  preliminary arrangements, then wait until the fruit is ripe before  picking the fruit of my labors. Just like this──』

Alec’s voice echoed inside the labyrinth sonorously.

『Hear me, daughters of eternal night……o daughters of the earth and  shadow. Megaera the demon, Tisiphone the avenger, Alecto the  relentless!』

「As I thought! Those are the names of the three goddesses of revenge!」

Stella yelled hearing the listed mysterious names. Alec’s chanting didn’t stop.

『Send back the curse and accomplish the retribution swiftly! Now is the time for revenge!』

「Not yettt! I can also do something like this if I know it’s coming-. Watch me stopping even that counter too──!」

That was Ren’s resolve, it was also his words of power.

And then, Ren’s mind and perception were also spreading in  conjunction with the spreading of his magic eye’s light. Right now, he  was able to perceive all the places that got filled with the rainbow  radiance.

Because the light of the magic eye was also the sight of Rokuhara Ren.

If he closed his eyes, he could see even things that his naked eyes couldn’t see.

For example, Black Prince Alec who was sitting on a rocking chair inside a small room at the deepest part of the labyrinth.

In addition, the snake haired three goddesses──.

Around an altar that was set up at the deepest part of the labyrinth,  there were goddesses standing around it with snakes as their hair like  Medusa.

The three goddesses had terrifying appearance, but they also had magnificent beauty.

Ren’s magic eye froze the authority of Goddesses of Revenge that they were going to send to Ren and even their own time.

That was the instant Ren surpassed the trap of Alexander Gascoigne.

The great labyrinth was vast──its scale most likely rivaled a town. The time inside it was completely frozen.

The only one who could move around inside the time stopped field was just Ren and Stella.

The burden of causing such miracle mercilessly assaulted Ren.

「Uuuuu-」

「Ren, you alri──wait, you aren’t alright at all……」

「Y-yeah……」

Stella quickly got down from her host’s shoulder and looked at him with worry.

Ren relinquished his usual easygoing attitude and crouched on all fours.

His heart was beating fiercely like a drum. He couldn’t put strength  into his body at all. He didn’t look like he would be able to stand up  for a while. However at the same time, he didn’t slack with『focusing』 to  stop Alec’s time.

He focused his mind to Alec’s location and heightened his magical power──

「Eh?」

Ren who was closing his eyes and focusing his mind got dumbfounded.

He was remotely viewing the room at the deepest part of the labyrinth  where Alec was staying using his Magic Eye of Time Stop. And yet, Alec  wasn’t there anymore.

He opened his eyes in surprise and raised his face.

It was at that moment Alec suddenly teleported in front of Ren.

The special privilege of the dungeon master to freely change the  location of his subordinate and himself. With that, the Campione of  godspeed electrified his lean and tall figure.

Black lightning danced unceasingly above Alec’s body. The lightning was rushing and flashing.

And most importantly, the time of this smirking man was still running!

Come to think of it──Ren recalled back.

The authority of godspeed that Alec possessed. He remembered someone mentioning a rumor that it was called Black Lightning.

The rainbow light that Ren’s magic eye radiated was filling the inside of the labyrinth even now.

That was why, just by sending a mental command, Alec time should stop. He should start freezing.

Usually, even if it was against a Campione who was on guard, he  definitely would be able to stop them for several seconds. And with this  full power version where he mustered all his strength, it wouldn’t be  strange if that time was extended until several hundred seconds.

And yet──

The time of the sparking Alec wasn’t stopped even for a hundredth of second.

「W-why can you still moving!?」

Stella complained from the floor in the place of Ren who found it hard to even make a voice anymore.

Alec calmly shrugged with a composed face. However, his wish to  expose his trick could be seen faintly. A bit of great smugness was  showing up on his face.

「Then, allow me elucidate about last time.」

Alec spoke smoothly. His voice sounded just a bit proud.

「My godspeed in the end isn’t an ability based on moving speed, but  an ability of time control to shorten the travel time. Therefore, it  could be easily sealed by your eye. It’s because they are power of the  same type that my ability got easily influenced. In that case」

Alec continued speaking with his smugness slightly thickening on his face.

「I questioned whether the opposite can also be true or not. I was  also secretly feeling that. The experiment this time proved that my  suspicion is correct.」

「……T-then, that black sparking is also」

Ren kept crouching down and he somehow squeezed out his voice through his total exhaustion.

Alexander Gascoigne was keeping his body enveloped in that black  lightning all this time as he leisurely looked down on Rokuhara Ren.

「The authority for moving with that awesome speed……?」

「Yes. It’s an authority that I received from a certain god of  lightning. Actually it can also be used for attack. Some sages from  somewhere named the attack mode as Black Lightning. It’s an attack that  send a burst of time manipulation time all at once to outside, so I  wondered if it can also be used to stop a magic eye that can stop  time──」

「So you predicted, or rather had a hunch about this.」

Ren let out a sigh.

「Looks like you got the correct answer.」

「Fortunately. But, I’ll become unable to use godspeed for half a day  by doing this, so it’s difficult to decide the timing for its use──but  it’s a different story if you’re my opponent.」

「Hahaha……with me as the opponent, there isn’t really any need to keep back from using it huh……」

「That’s how it is. And as I expected, it’s useful.」

「W-wait, that black sparking, isn’t it gradually getting stronger!?」

Stella snuggled on Ren while losing her calm.

She pointed at the electricity with her small index finger. Alec smiled.

「Obviously. This is the attack mode that let out the full burst of my  godspeed explosively, so I can’t keep holding it back forever. I’ll  have to release it soon.」

「You’re going to let it out at our direction!? We flatly refuse!」

Stella yelled as her belt shined with rose color──

Right after that, jet black electricity fired out from Black Prince Alec’s whole body to all directions.

The energy of Black Lightning rampaged, surged, and mercilessly overwhelmed the surrounding with terrible heat and impact.

Due to that power, the walls and the rocks above were destroyed.

What it caused wasn’t simply in the level of rubbles falling. A part of the ceiling even fell down.

The rampage of the lightning lasted for a while──it continued for  more than fifty seconds. When it finally ended, irritant odor and white  smoke were shrouding the area thickly.

And then when that smoke also cleared up.

「Ahaha……the important thing to have in this world is a partner who is  skilled in asking for favor, and a lightning god as friend!」

「────Hou!」

Ren rejoiced full of energy as Alec’s eyes widened in surprise.

「I didn’t know that you actually have such powerful looking weapon with you.」

「Aah, this. Our friend Thor accidentally came to Hyperborea. I  borrowed this from him just for a bit. I’d need to ask his permission  later though.」

Ren explained while looking like he had completely recovered from his exhaustion.

His right hand was holding a hammer with short handle. It was  profoundly heavy. Even for Rokuhara Ren’s arm that was trained despite  its slenderness, it was hard for him to handle this hammer.

However, it absorbed all the black lightning that assaulted Ren.

Just that was more than enough. As expected from the possession of Norse’s lightning god Thor.

「Fumu……」

Alec was staring at Ren’s left wrist.

The cord that was wrapped there was shining with rose color. It was  the belt of the small goddess of beauty and love Stella aka Aphrodite.

「As I thought, you were still hiding another troublesome authority other than the time stop.」

「Hahahaha」

Ren laughed cutely. He was in a telepathic conversation with Stella until just a short while ago.

He had been restlessly doing that in a hurry right after Alec appeared clad in black lightning.

(W-what to do Ren-!? This guy’s time isn’t stopped!)

(Can’t be helped! Stella……lend me your vigor and power!)

(Certainly, there is no other way than that anymore-. Don’t mess up even if I’m gone!)

Rokuhara Ren had the second authority, Circle of Friendship.

It was the power of the goddess of love Aphrodite, the number one of  Greek mythology in regard to coaxing. She could call someone with deep  relation or good affinity with her and borrowed or received valuable  thing from them.

Furthermore, it wasn’t just item that she could borrow.

Something like energy or intelligence, and in the end even ability  were something that she could ask 『Lend me that for a bit!』 with her  ability.

Also, since Ren lost his first authority, the Retributive Justice,  the potency of Circle of Friendship was increasing as though to make up  for it.

Even when he learned that Alec’s trump card was a lightning attack,

(Wait──that sparks, even Ren’s magic eye won’t be able to stop it at all!)

(Then, let’s do that. Let’s borrow something from a lightning god! Thor has come to this world after all!)

(There is no time, so let’s borrow first and ask later! I ask my  friend, the lightning god Thor! Please let us borrow your prided hammer  without permission!)

He had that kind of conversation with his partner.

Thus, Stella vanished after offering her stamina and magic power to  her host Ren, the she prayed to the hammer that was summoned her without  the permission from its owner and asked it to block the destructive  power of the black lightning.

The lightning god’s tool also vanished from Ren’s hand after it finished its role.

Something that was borrowed without permission couldn’t be kept for  long. Also, if the item was currently being used by the owner, than the  summon would fail right from the summoning stage.

This time Ren and Stella could be called lucky.

By the way, the afternoon tea set before this. Those were also  something that they secretly pleaded for a certain place and summoned  her.

「Anyway, if Alec can’t use that speed anymore」

Ren’s body lightly──floated from the floor.

「This is my chance to land my attack on him!」

「Hou! You can also fly on the sky huh!?」

「Actually I can also do something like this you know? ──Sacred flame pure and clear!」

Ren approached Alec with a nimble flight while thrusting out his index finger.

Bluish white flame blew out *bou-!* from that fingertip. He borrowed  the purifying flame of the spirit of sun and flight ability from his  other partner.

From the reincarnation of the golden divine bird Yatagarasu, Toba Riona.

The barrier of Great Labyrinth that Alec made was severing the bond  that was formed by Ren’s authority Oath of Wings, but it was unable to  block the Circle of Friendship too──.

This trump card was only available because of that. With this Ren was finally succeeded in cornering Alec.

Victory was right before his eyes.

Ren’s purifying flame rushed at the scoundrel Black Prince──.

Previous Table of Content Next