Campione 01 Read online

  Prologue

  Excerpt from the Italian mage Alberto Ricardo's Book, Demon King, 19th Century

  ......To those who accomplished this formidable feat, I grant them the title of Campione – Godslayer – .

  Among all virtuous readers, some will probably believe that I over-exaggerate with that title and frown, while others will think that I am making undue fuss over it.

  However, I want to emphasize it, once again.

  Campione – Godslayer – is the supreme ruler.

  Since he can kill a celestial being, he can therefore call on the highly divine powers held by the gods.

  Campione – Godslayer – is a lord.

  Since the power to kill a deity is in their hands, they therefore have the power to dominate the mortals on Earth.

  Campione – Godslayer – is a devil.

  Therefore of the entire humanity living on earth, those who have the power to oppose them do not exist!

  Excerpt from the Letter of Cardinal Antonio Tebes, Addressed to the Vatican, Early 20th Century

  For the purpose of going against Providence, playing with the demonic knowledge of mages, he received the title of King from them.

  Concerning the name that you were hearing more or less.

  Campione – Godslayer – is Epimetheus's[1A 1] illegitimate child. The devil.

  Unfortunately, we mortals cannot fight against them.

  The ones who can fight against them, are his fellow Campiones, Our Heavenly Father's angels, and the taboo pagan gods......

  Excerpt from Japanese Reports Concerning the Verification of the new Campione, Beginning of the 21st Century

  In the Persian mythology, Verethragna[1A 2] was a god which had many complex attributes.

  He was originally a follower of the chief god of the Indian mythology —— Mithra's[1A 3] war god, and after Zoroastrianism[1A 4] began to worship him as a war god, he had been promoted as a divine guard.

  And this god had the characteristics of having ten forms.

  At the beginning, his form was one of an impetuous wind, but he can also have the form of a bull, a white horse, a camel, a boar, an adolescent, a bird, a ram, a goat and a warrior with a golden sword.

  Even if Verethragna continuously changed forms, he would still win, and brought victories to his worshipers —— to make it simple. After his deification, he became the symbol of what he represented, victory.

  It was after Kusanagi Godou killed the god of victory, that he became a young Campione.

  [Report on Kusanagi Godou], Compilation of the Greenwich assembly

  As mentioned in the document above, Kusanagi Godou had seized the powers of Verethragna and became [The Persian Warlord]; it was deduced that he had several restrictions.

  Since he cannot use this power at his own will, he is not at the level of the other Campiones, and thus does not have absolute authority.

  However, everyone, please do not forget.

  Even though his powers might seem to be incomplete, it cannot be denied that he is a Campione. Towards fragile humans such as mages like me, he is still a devil standing above us.

  Furthermore, Kusanagi Godou, whether it's then or now, is without any knowledge of magic or spells.

  This might prove the theory of the person who said thus; instead of claiming that the highest presence among the mages are the campione, it is more correct to say that in the end, mages are mere imitations of the campione.

  Epimetheus was the brother of Prometheus of Greek mythology. He is pictured as a foolish Titan. Some people also say that he is the one who accepted the gift of Pandora or that he had a child with Pandora.

  Verethragna was a god of Zoroastrianism who symbolized victory. He could take 10 different forms.

  Another god in Zoroastrianism. Verethragna and Čistā are his principal companions. Mithra is the Zoroastrian divinity (yazata) of covenant and oath. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing protector of Truth, and the guardian of cattle, the harvest and of The Waters.

  Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra, in Avestan) and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was a religion in Persia, which is around the actual Iran.

  Chapter 1 - Roman Holiday

  Part 1

  It was mysterious that even the hue of the sky changed subtly from country to country.

  The current sky Kusanagi Godou was looking up at through the windows of the airport did not have the fuzzy depths of Japan's deep blue sky. The Latin countries' sky, as if to break through the horizons, was an amazingly bright blue one.

  Turning his eyes back up front, what he saw was a crowd of different people with diverse nationalities roaming about everywhere.

  It was a scene that could rarely be seen in Japan.

  ——Fiumicino airport.

  Also called the Leonardo-da-Vinci Airport. This was the national airport of Italy's capital, Rome.

  And it wasn't because of a school trip that he had come here. So at that time, Godou was the only Japanese high-school student around.

  "Even though I had absolutely no intention of coming back here for another half a year..."

  Godou murmured while surveying the huge traffic hurrying through the airport terminal.

  After being on the shaking airplane for twelve hours, he had finally arrived in this Latin country. Because of the fatigue of sitting on a plane and the time zone difference, his body felt incredibly weak.

  "This certainly isn't the first time, or the second, but that girl really doesn't care about others' circumstances."

  While yawning, he tried finding a familiar face in the crowd.

  The target of the search shouldn't be hard to miss.

  Her bright blond hair was similar to a dazzling crown. Her beauty was far greater than any girl in Godou's memory. And on top of the fact that everyone would obviously be looking at her, having an attitude unlike anybody else——

  If she was close, he would immediately recognize her.

  But the one he was searching for——Erica Blandelli——didn't appear.

  From people wearing business suits to rough clients carrying bags to obvious tourist groups, he was surrounded by people in all directions, but he still couldn't see Erica.

  ......It was said that more or less all Italians had a bad habit of arriving long after the appointed hour.

  But in Erica's case, her habit of arriving late really wasn't because of her ethnic background, but simply the result of her own laziness.

  After knowing her for a few months, Godou was very sure of that.

  Moreover, Erica Blandelli wasn't simply lazy. Besides being self-centered, her way of always playing others at her own convenience made her a very selfish woman.

  For example, the day before when he had suddenly received this call.

  "Listen, it would be very convenient if you could come to my side immediately. That's the situation, so prepare yourself to take the first flight tomorrow morning. I'll welcome you at the airport."

  That had been her opening line.

  It was the end of May, on a weekend afternoon. He had received the call on Friday past 4pm.

  "What the heck is with 'that's the situation' that you came up with? I have no obligations to be considerate of your circumstances. Also, I have my own plans, so go find someone else."

  What was she calling him for all of a sudden, that woman...

  Godou replied coldly as he left school for home.

  "'Because I really miss you' would be the obvious response, wouldn't it? You must also love me so much that you can't bear it, so isn't this arrangement just great?"

  "No, I don't particularly miss you. Stop it with those fab
rications about my feelings... Anyway, the last time I saw you was two weeks ago, not even half a month, and for two people respectively living in Tokyo and Milan, it's impossible to see each other that frequently."

  He complained with as much indifference as possible.

  He was already used to that woman's outrageous behavior. But he couldn't allow himself to get caught up in her pace.

  "Yes yes, it's only natural after not being able to meet for half a month, poor Godou. The time spent living apart from your loved ones results in feelings of anxiety and worry, which is something I can sympathize with only too well.... Regarding this matter, since I also have some ideas to improve the situation, please stay hopeful. So about tomorrow's plans——"

  Without regard to others, Erica kept going on with the conversation.

  As expected of a woman with eleven years of experience in self-centered behavior, she didn't care for my circumstances at all.

  "Don't say anymore, Erica, this is as far as this conversation goes. If you would care to explain everything clearly and slowly, from beginning to end, I'll listen to you, but if you don't, I'll hang up right now."

  "Just what I expect of you. You rejected the invitation even though it's from me. You are the only one who wouldn't take the bait...... well, I haven't dated any guys yet, but I shouldn't be wrong."

  Erica responded with her voice full of delight.

  Godou couldn't help but frown, even though he knew what Erica was saying was on purpose.

  Her attitude was as bad as ever...... despite knowing her demonic nature, the number of guys she had dumped had to be pretty high.

  "Then I am going to say it once more. Kusanagi Godou, I hope that you will immediately come to Italy. I need your help. It will probably be difficult for me to settle this matter with my power alone, so please consider this earnestly. I, Erica Blandelli, swear upon my honor that I have not lied to you."

  She suddenly got serious about it.

  Furthermore, she used her 'honor'. After swearing on that, she wouldn't lie no matter what. Because to Erica Blandelli, her honor was more important than anything else.

  ——It can't be helped, sighed Godou.

  Although Erica was indeed a capricious person, someone who wouldn't care about others' thoughts, someone who liked to play around with people and had a demonic personality, she was still a benefactor who had saved his life many times.

  Since she already said that much, he had no choice but to accept it.

  "......I understand. I'll do as you say, so don't forget to pick me up."

  "Your answer really makes me happy, may the Lord bless your chivalrous spirit."

  "So what should I do? I think you already know, but I still want to reaffirm that I won't help you do any dubious dealings."

  "Of course, you only need to maintain the behavior of a king, and fight as a king. As for the rest, you can have faith in me......though; it's great that I don't need to rely on my trump card this time. I would feel bad after using it."

  "Trump card?"

  After hearing Erica say such dangerous words, Godou was surprised.

  "You're right, since I think that you, Godou, have the obligation to accept all my requests, don't you agree?"

  "Agree or not, don't be ridiculous, why would I agree to all of your requests seeing as I am just a friend......"

  "——although you have already......"

  Erica whispered.

  It was the whisper of a devil that couldn't help but enjoy toying around with humans. Godou reflexively wanted to escape.

  "Although when you have already taken my purity, you fiend. Have you forgotten our passionate night back in Sicily?"

  "Th-That was something the circumstances forced on us, just the result of both of our interests. It's not like I wanted to do that kind of thing......"

  "Yes, that's right, desiring it from the bottom of my heart, I gave you my purity. And immediately afterwards, you suddenly became so cold towards me...... you think that there wasn't a need to feed the fish after it was hooked, didn't you?"

  Although she kept complaining, Erica sounded really cheerful.

  You demon! Godou silently cursed her.

  "Don't say things that can be taken the wrong way so easily, it'll look as if we had some secret relationship! If others hear this, they'll surely misunderstand us!"

  "But it is a secret relationship! Even afterwards, our lips met over and over again, our bodies on top of each other——"

  "That's why I asked you to stop saying it so ambiguously!"

  "Okay, answer me this: if I happen to tell your cute little sister about what happened between us, what do you think might happen?"

  Godou realized that he had already lost.

  Even though what Erica said had been heavily embellished, it was all real. And Godou didn't want the talkative Shizuka to know about it. If that happened, it would be very problematic.

  At that moment, Erica was sure to be laughing near a distant sea of a foreign country.

  Godou's thoughts formed a very clear image of a gorgeous girl making a self-confident smile of triumph.

  "Y-You can't actually want to use this to blackmail me, can you?"

  "Don't worry, if you show your sincerity, I certainly will not give your little sister any trouble. I swear upon my honor."

  "Don't swear upon your honor for that! Aren't despicable things like blackmailing the complete opposite of honor?"

  And just like that, his sudden trip to Italy came to be.

  Godou, who returned home so he could prepare his luggage, opened the mailbox without hesitation.

  ......Indeed, a letter had come by airmail.

  The sender was Erica Blandelli.

  The letter contained an airplane ticket from Narita Airport to Rome.

  This letter hadn't been posted normally. He could tell because there was no stamp on it.

  If it wasn't Erica's dubious [Knights corps]'s Tokyo branch that had sent this secretly, it would have been sent in a more abnormal way——it would have been something like [Magic], sent directly from Milan, Italy. There was no doubt about it.

  "I'm sorry, are you......"

  Godou, who couldn't find Erica and was contemplating silently, was interrupted by some Japanese words.

  Not only was the pronunciation smooth, but it was also very precise.

  "Black hair, black eyes, around 180cm tall; though his looks aren't bad, there are flaws so twenty points are taken off his face...... you are Kusanagi Godou-san, right?

  The one who said that was a black-haired woman, around two or three years older than Godou.

  "My name is Arianna Hayama Arialdi, and on Erica-sama's orders, I have come here to pick you up. Please take care of me."

  "Please take care of me...... excuse me, but that insulting remark just now, that was from Erica, right?

  "Yes. So it was you after all. Thank goodness."

  Arianna-san herself didn't seem to hold any ill will.

  A little more than 160 cm tall and with a warm smile, she wasn't much different from a normal Japanese girl. She was also quite lovely due to the graceful air surrounding her.

  She looked so harmless that it was impossible to think she would be related to Erica in any way.

  Or maybe she only looked like one who wouldn't even kill a bug from the outside, while in reality she held an unequaled strength, like a beast hiding her fangs?

  "You may have guessed from my name, but my grandfather was born in Japan. That is why being of your assistance has been left to me. Please call me Anna. All of my friends do so as well."

  "Then you can simply call me Godou as well. Though not all of my friends call me that, at least Erica does."

  "I understand, Godou-san."

  Anna showed a carefree smile.

  Like a lily wavering under a light breeze, her appearance was very lovely.

  Though if she called Erica with the suffix '-sama', she had to be a member of that group that couldn't recognize different
eras and still claimed themselves to be mages and knights.

  "You don't look like one of Erica's comrades; you're more like an ordinary person."

  "......Ah, so you also think that? Since I don't have any abilities, I am still a trainee. Luckily, I have been in Erica-sama's care, and she made me a direct subordinate."

  Anna-san indeed looked very young and normal. Nothing about her seemed out of the ordinary.

  She said that she was still a trainee, and Godou could fully agree.

  "But being her direct subordinate......sounds pretty hard. Isn't it dangerous?"

  "Ah, no, I only take care of her daily routine, so there's no danger, and Erica-sama is very strong, so she always protects me."

  Taking care of the daily routine...?

  Wasn't she a maid rather than a subordinate?

  Wasn't she a maid rather than a subordinate?

  And Erica was also very lazy, so even the tasks that she could do surely would have been pushed onto Anna.

  ......Godou started to pity this older girl.

  Thinking that Anna might also be one of those who suffered under Erica, Godou thought he should be a bit more considerate to her.

  "By the way, why don't I see the one who called me here?"

  "Erica-sama is now attending to an important meeting. She'll get to you when she is finished, so please let me take care of you in the meanwhile."

  Please let me take care of everything, said Anna. She seem quite reliable.

  "Does Anna-san know what Erica wants from me? That person didn't explain anything properly and called me over. Even now, I'm still confused."

  "I'm very sorry. I'm not clear about this either. I have only been told that Godou-san was Erica-sama's honored guest and that I cannot by all means neglect him......"

  "So it's like this? She didn't reveal my identity to you?"

  "She didn't......maybe it's because Godou-san is someone very important? It might be why she didn't care to let me know."

  "I don't think it's something important. Simply put, I am only a Japanese high school student who has been forcefully called here, so there shouldn't be any problem."

  If there was something wrong, it would be the fact that it was difficult to easily explain who he really was.