Campione! Alternate (Role-Play: Recruiting)

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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the next roleplay that I am hosting, the Campione RP, which is another fanfiction RP. We’re looking to accommodate the busier users this time, and have various roles that may make it easier for them to join. This RP will feature badass action against godly men and women against, well, gods of various mythologies, as is the theme of Campione the Light Novel. There will be much fun to have, with politics; intrigue, romance (maybe); and many more. Some roles may require you to read the novel, but others don’t, feel free to take a look below.

This RP is also a bit of a hybrid with Campione and Fate universe, incorporating magecraft; the Campiones will be made to reflect a Servant’s class from Fate, and I’ll be using things from Fate world (like Skills) for fun.

You don’t need to read the Light Novel or watch the anime for some roles.

Rules

• No spamming. Please don’t post any comments, questions, or a profile in this thread. Use the discussion thread instead—or join our Skype group—as RP posts will be made in this thread, after the RP starts.

• Write in the Third Person Format, because no one likes to be confused. We’ll be writing in a Google Doc in real time, so First Person Format may confuse other participants and readers. You don’t need to be a great writer to join, we don’t expect you to write like a thirteen year old though.

If you do join, it may be worth it if you’re invested about your character ideas. Don’t hesitate to join our Skype group to discuss or ask questions that you may have. We don’t bite. We don’t care about your identity—I met a ton of people who were shy about it but got through it. We have worked things out with busier people and wrote chronicles upon chronicles of glorious adventuring, killing, fighting, and even just gossiping. If you think you can make that little sacrifice of time to explore a new world, I don’t think you’ll regret it. We only do this for fun, after all.


To make a character, follow the information and instructions in this thread step by step. As you go through the steps, a concept of a character may come to mind—this is vital to character creation. You may be lead to some Google Doc links (you won’t need permission to enter) to pick Traits and whatnot for your character. If you enjoy some complexity in character creation, you might just like it.


Roles


Classes


Character Creation


Mechanics:

(And so the RP starts... to be honest, it started awhile ago behind the scenes. We're still accepting players to join act 2, though!)

Act 1: Birth of the Godslayers

Flames unbound, debris adrift, thunders wailing—a pandemonium was afoot. It was as sudden as the storm that was taking place. The calamity weakened the wills of men, for they could only hope for it to pass peacefully. In this heavy downpour on the harbor of Sicily—tied by fate—two women faced each other, one unearthly beautiful, and the other wearing a mask of determination.

The young lady’s determination ablaze with unrestrained excitement—her red hair seemingly glowing from the bright embers.

Ever since she had left her hometown of Acri, in search for adventure, this was the first time that she felt this excited. She owed it all to the beautiful lady that stood in front of her—something that she didn’t really expect. If she encountered someone like this near her home, then what wonders awaited her further beyond it?

“Interesting. This world is interesting after all!” she declared in her mother tongue—the Italian language—grinning towards her foe. She raised her blade in front of her and continued, “It seems that running away was the best idea I’ve had so far.”

Massaged by the gale of the storm, the jet black hair of the transcendent beauty fluttered. Her eyes and attire were as black as the night. A piercing gaze thus befell the scarlet young lady who seemed to oppose her leisure activities—that was to cause chaos. Her lips stretched—amused—and her nine, fluffy-looking tails moved in unison, each of their ends pointed at the mortal.

“Thou words doth ringeth the truth, child. Indeed, the world ye traverse is quite interesting,” the lady in black stated, holding a Japanese black hand fan.

If any easterner would take moments to carefully analyze the fan she held, they’d notice that it was in fact a war fan, one that was much more stout than any ordinary war fan.

“You speak funnily,” the younger of the two replied. Her sleeveless white-ruffled blouse clung to her skin from being soaked in the rain, but it didn’t seem to matter to her as she didn’t even make any effort to cover herself properly, even when her blue skirt fluttered in the wind. “Are you not from here?”

“What wouldst thou think?” A playful smile could be seen across the peerlessly beautiful face of the woman in black. It was as though the sword wasn’t pointed at this individual at all—for she felt no sense of danger.

“Well, I don’t really care.” She tilted her head and shrugged.

A lightning bolt coiled in the sky with a thunderous roar. The unearthly beautiful lady took up her hand fan and the thus wind danced with her. The tongues of the surrounding fires were caught and it resulted in a fierce blazing tornado that stood between the two women.

No ordinary man or woman would be able to believe the sight as the woman performed this feat as if it was natural to her.

“Care now, perchance?”

“Woah!” The younger lady was caught in utter fascination, as she lowered her blade. From the giddy tone of her voice, it seemed as if she couldn’t feel the intense heat that the tornado was radiating. “That’s amazing!”

“How fearless. How interesting. Test ye I shall!”

However clueless as she may first appear, she knew something of this scale wouldn’t be merciful if it hit her. She channeled her mana and jumped out of the way as a magic circle appeared below her. She twisted her body whilst mid-air, using her spin to throw a couple of jewels she had borrowed from her grandmother towards her opponent. The jewels exploded and covered the area with flames as they hit their target, brightening it up as if it were daybreak.

“Ah. I might’ve done too much!” She covered her mouth with her hand as she looked at the explosions she had caused. It’d be a massive let down if she were to be imprisoned less than a week after she had left her home.

The flames soon parted ways like curtains being pulled away to the sides, and she found the lady in black holding her fan to her mouth, a smirk could be felt behind it.

“Yes, entertain me, mortal.”

“I have a name, you know! And why are you still alive?”

She pointed an accusing finger towards the smirking lady as she stomped her foot. Those weren’t some cheap gems that she threw, and seeing that it had almost no effect showed how big the gap was between them. In short, she couldn’t be any happier at this moment. Rather than wait for a reply, she used her magic and sent voluminous flames towards the black-haired lady, who just dispersed the flames with her tail.

Slowly getting frustrated more than she’d like to admit, the red-haired young woman clicked her tongue. Her grandmother couldn’t be wrong, it was impossible—if she said that the young woman was destined for the top, then she was. That’s just how it was. Perhaps she was approaching this opponent wrong? That must be it! Maybe flames don’t work on her properly. Mufufu, truly, I only deserve the best opponent, it would’ve been disappointing if she were any weaker than this!

“Prepare yourself!” the young lady shouted as she brandished her blade. She took upon a stance that was drilled into her as she prepared another attack, this time utilizing her sword. With a thrust, a stream of scarlet mana was poured out. It blasted against the figure.

As the smoke cleared, she could see something between the tails and her own power. A gold barrier was revealed, protecting the person she was facing against. There were a myriad of tiny symbols floating upon it. Even as she poured more and more power from her magic sword, none of it was seeping past this shield that was erected.

“You’re not human, are you?” She flicked her blade to her side, slowly starting to feel the strain of her continuous use of magic. “Nona told me your kind exists...”

The lady giggled as if she was found out before narrowing her eyes, and widened her lips further. She touched a tail with the fan and it disappeared, seemingly becoming one with it. Her palm passed the fur of another tail and a sword materialized.

A Japanese sword. Its hilt was as black as her hair and hairs, and it’s length was at least more than half the height of her body.

“Come, human, let us dance.”

“Oho, don’t mind if I do!” Her flames alighted for the second time, she kicked on the ground launching herself towards the multiple-tailed woman. If she was outclassed in every aspect of magic, then perhaps her chance lied in her sword. She braked with her foot in front of the lady, and with one swift motion flipped above the lady with her remaining momentum. As she was exactly above the lady, the young woman threw down the rest of the jewels she carried.

The flames ignited brightly but only momentarily as they clashed against the barrier. As she landed, she only could feel the mysterious being to turn toward her, the sword laying low facing the wretched earth.

“Is that all thou may show to me?”

“Ah… well, ahahaha,” she replied, feeling rather embarrassed by her show. She laughed awkwardly as she tried to maintain her guard. Perhaps she was too upfront with her offensive, but now she had to be creative; how could she defeat this monster of a foe that she faced? She hoped that this was only the first of many, completely confident that nevertheless, she’d survive this encounter.

She heard footsteps. The deity treaded upon the earth and approached her casually. It took as long as a second for her to cross the distance between them. Her smile was as natural as a pair of friends meeting each other after a long time, yet it was deadly—as much as the edge of her blade. The sword slashed with a blitzing speed, the woman having taken an upward slash stance an instance before she made her move. The scarlet-haired woman barely stumbled back to survive its crudely cut path.

“What may the matter be, human? Thou art feareth mine presence?”

“Can I touch your tail? They seem… fluffy,” she replied, drool almost falling out the side of her mouth. The sight of those swishing tails almost mesmerized her, especially at this close distance. Finally unable to contain herself, she pounced on the deity—and got a massive gash across her stomach in return. Blood stained her clothes and pooled down where she sat; she was in complete shock, as if something that was impossible just happened to her.

Several thoughts ran through her head, several plans to run away—thoughts that were drowned by her instincts that shouted at her.

I cannot grab that tail at this rate…

The deity flicked the sword downwards, slapping the blood against the ground.

“Now, now, surely thou art is greater than this. Wish to touch mine tail? Thou must catch it to sate thine desires.”

At that moment, the scarlet-haired lady just finished closing her wound with magic. She pushed herself up with the help of her blade, and it seemed futile for her to even move—but her expression said otherwise. If it had come to this, then it would be as good a time as any for her to use her most powerful magic.

“C-can… Can I touch it, please?” she said with her well-practiced puppy dog eyes. Her pleading expression and her good looks were something she always had pride about—her greatest magic, as her grandmother would say. It was uncountable how many times it had saved her from all kinds of threats in their village. Mostly her infuriated grandmother.

“Thou art too weak to deserveth such luxury. Know thy place.”

At that moment, she heard the crackling noise of thunder as a part of Sicily was brightened as if it was a clear day. She witnessed the lightning fall before the jet black lady.

Confused, she found herself upon the arms of a stranger, carried out of the trajectory of the blinding light. As the elevation dropped and they landed, the redhead found a blonde beauty looking down at her.

“Are you alright?” the lady questioned as she set her down and a rapier materialized with a gold light. There was a hint of worry yet a hint of uncaring nature. Which was it? Her dress was gold, and the gold and white skirt reached down just below her knees, beneath which she could see boots.

“Wha—I almost had her!” The redhead stomped her foot and blew up her cheeks. “Are you planning to grab a feel too? Well, too bad! I came here first!”

“Grab a… feel?” The elegant-looking lady blinked at her before showing a serious expression. “Now is hardly the time for such a petty claim. We must stop the Heretic God lest more people fall prey to this atrocity.”

“A what? I was doing just fine,” she replied, dusting her clothes. “That said, that’s a good looking sword… could I have it?”

“You would have died to that lightning.” The lady thus turned and faced whom she referred to as the Heretic God, brandishing her blade, and ignoring the other query.

“Wouldst thou entertain me instead?” the Goddess questioned, her expression mirthful.

“O great Goddess, please, I implore you to quell your wrath and spare the citizens. Partaking in any conflict here is but meaningless.”

“Oh? For a mortal, thou possesseth quite the gall to command me. I must teach thee a lesson…”

Their exchange got interrupted as a piece of rock flew by between them, falling harmlessly before the Goddess. It came from the red-haired girl, irritated that her target had suddenly switched focus before she had her way. She should’ve been rather exhausted and weary at this point, but both of her observers knew she wasn’t backing down if the second piece of rock in her hand was of any indication.

“We’re not done here, yet!” she shouted.

“Thou art weak. Bored of thy persistence I am. Come, disciple of Hermes, show me thy tricks!”

“Very well, if that is what you wish.” I suppose it was bound for failure… “Soar, Wings of Hermes!”

A magic circle flourished under her feet—upon which an insignia of a lily was drawn—and with great speed she ascended forwards, making a leap before her elegantly long blade clashed against the Goddess’ sword with a metallic clang resounding across the burning field. The disciple of Hermes danced, displaying mastery of her swordsmanship as she made flawless strikes.

Up, right, down, left—the blonde attacked from varying directions. Sometimes her slashes were diagonal, other times they were horizontal, but the deity hardly expended her strength in turn. Only her hand moved from where she stood to manipulate the Japanese sword to block the comnig strikes—completely unfazed by this level of attack.

The redhead started scouring the debris, while the newcomer distracted her prey. A surprise brilliant strategy came to her that she had somehow surprised even herself. Finally, she found a rather hefty piece of wood crossed her sights, and immediately she started transmuting the wood into a spear. The sounds of swords clashing harmlessly filled her ears as she raised her spear enthusiastically.

“Ha! Take this!” She pulled the spear back as she aimed towards the Goddess, pumping the spear with her mana, slowly preparing it to explode—and explode it did. In her enthusiasm, she overfilled the wooden object with mana and it exploded into fiery splinters, which fortunately didn’t do much as they turned into ashes before they hit her.

Feeling quite deflated, she fashioned herself another spear and went through the same motions, this time aiming and controlling her magic carefully. And it was when she flung the spear that she knew that she did well, as the crudely fashioned wooden weapon lit up in flames but maintained its trajectory towards the Goddess, and incidentally, the blonde newcomer, who leapt out of the way in the final moment.

It appeared as though something moved and the Japanese sword blurred. Even when it happened right before her, she could not see it, for this was true speed, as the spear broke into tiny pieces—scattering on the ground.

The blonde landed beside the redhead. “It appears you still have some fire left in you.”

The redhead pointed towards the horizon, seemingly unfazed by her failure. “Nona told me this: a rose loses her beauty the same time she loses her thorns!”

The lady made a smile that was somehow similar to the Goddess’. “You had thorns?”

“Geh… just because you’re old...” The redhead pouted, somewhat reminded of her grandmother.

The well-dressed lady thus extended her arm toward the redhead on the ground. “Now then, shall we face this together? Or are you truly so blind as to believe that you would win with your own strength?”

“I would be the first to stroke her tail.” The redhead took the hand of the lady. “And then, you’d have to tell me where you got your sword!”

“Very well, strike as you may—I shall allow you to buy time for me. Ah, but I decline to reveal the origin of my sword.”

The redhead felt rather irritated by the tone of the newcomer’s response, but in order for her brilliant strategy to work, they had to be in sync with each other. Being the obviously mature person that she was, she decided to follow the newcomer’s lead and took out a handful of various trinkets she had infused her mana with to replenish her own stores.

Mana fully replenished, she summoned two magical lion constructs and sent them to help the newcomer attack the Goddess while she fired a spear made of magical flames of her own. Like it did before, her flaming spear dispersed before it did any damage towards the Goddess. The lions howled as they ran towards the Goddess, baring their fangs.

The Goddess only put her palm forward. A scarlet aura cradled her form.

“O Ukanomitama no Mikoto—grant upon me thy reserve of grains and flood the world in its glorious presence.”

As the deity finished her chant, a flood of rice took place, coming out seemingly from her very tails, sending a flood that carried the lions with them. The blonde mage leapt in time but the redhead couldn’t conjure her Leap spell fast enough, and was thus drowned in the torrent of rice.

When the torrent of grain stopped, a red blob poked out of the sea of rice, spitting out grains majestically from her mouth. While she did suffer some physical damage from this torrent, it was the embarrassment that she suffered the most as she pulled herself out. In a fit of anger, she kicked the sea of rice, unintentionally hitting them with her flames and sending out popping rice towards the Goddess.

Placing a palm on her stomach, a red light burned as she resealed her wound. The redhead soon brandished her sword yet again as it flew out of the layer of rice to her hand by her call. Thus she leapt ahead, with a magic circle leading her forwards. The burst of speed ended as the swords rattled in contact. The songs of steel carried far in the desolate and broken street of Palermo where no sign of life excluding them existed.

The raging flames were perhaps the only thing remaining to illuminate this battlefield that was shared between a mortal woman and an Immortal Goddess. Repeatedly, she struck, and the Goddess only sent her ancient sword to obstruct the magic sword, resulting in resounding impacts. Finally, the redhead’s blade crossed through the back of the Goddess’ hand, yet it yielded not even a cut.

“Ehehe. Congratulations, human. Now, dost thou understand the futility of thy actions?”

“Tch.” She sucked her teeth as she missed that best opportune moment to grab the Goddess’ fluffy tails. Somehow, in their exchange of blows, she lost herself from her true objective. The Goddess’ skill with the blade was nothing short of brilliant, and she was slowly taken into her beat. For the first time in this battle, she started feeling genuine doubt as she knew she slowly ran out of options.

“O Lily of Steel, to you I entrust the Words of Power of lamentation and anger! Bathe in the holy blood of His last words, and manifest yourself as the Lance of Longinus!”

The Goddess widened her eyes in shock for the first time, as the tip of a spear flourished from the chest of the deity, drawing blood. She turned an eye to the side, finding the blonde mage behind her, holding the lance that impaled her. It didn’t take long for her, however, to take joy in this development.

“Oho, worthy of praise thy deed is—o warrior of the present age,” the Goddess stated as the lance was withdrawn from her body, drawing more of her crimson. She slashed at her with her sword, forcing the lady in gold to parry in turn. Thus, they clashed fiercely, blades rattling and sparks flying. The redhead, finally catching her breath, leapt up to her companion’s side and started to follow her lead. It was an endless barrage of attacks as one covered for the other; yet the Goddess joined their dance, and eventually started conducting the music as the blonde and the redhead slowly started being pushed back.

Eventually, the two had to concede before their immortal partner, their weapons being disarmed as they got sent flying back down. The blonde’s spear eventually found its way embedded in front of the redhead, and the redhead’s blade fell closer to the blonde. With a brief glance and exchange of nods, they picked up each other’s weapon as they launched themselves upwards again.

At this point, the redhead, who for the most part only had her black undergarments left to protect herself from the chilling rain, twirled the spear around her. Immediately when they came within range of the Goddess, she and her companion started their barrage once more, seemingly developing a new level of synchronization as they used each other’s weapons with nary a hint of unfamiliarity. This time, rather than focusing on inflicting wounds on the Goddess, who still carried the wound from the spear, they both aimed to create a small window where the spear could deliver another blow.

The Goddess’ defense seemed impenetrable as she held the two at bay once more. Unlike the past, before the Goddess could send them both flying, one would give way and then cover for the other until they were back to their endless waltz. The shower of sparks that came from the clashing blades rained down on the heavily demolished harbor, as the trio of beauties fought nail to nail without giving any quarter. Finally, by some stroke of luck, the blonde warrior managed to feint an attack—perhaps the Goddess still was wary of the wound she had given her, and forgot that it was the redhead that she ignored who carried the spear capable of wounding her.

Droplets of crimson blood rained down upon the sea of rice as the spear pierced through the Goddess’ side. Without any hesitation, the redhead ran the weapon through the Goddess as close as she could get, before pulling back as she realized that even then, she couldn’t grasp those wonderfully fluffy—and now bloodied—fluffs of fur. Finally reaching the point of exhaustion, she grinned at her blonde companion, it was a pure, honest expression of someone who was having the time of her life. It was clear that even when unspoken, she was filled with gratitude and a newfound sense of camaraderie and respect for the blonde.

“Oh? Thou art redeemed thyself, it appears…” the Goddess said.

“Hmp, that’s for trying to drown me with grains!” She stuck out a tongue towards the Goddess.

“O Izanami no Mikoto, I beseech thee to fill the world with thy wails of suffering and loneliness—bring about the underworld and seal the miracle of light.”

As the Goddess spoke these Words of Power—she passed a palm over the tail, and her sword dematerialized—a deep blackness expanded from her form and and began to envelope everything in their surroundings.

There was silence.

There was an ear-piercing scream.

There was a thunderous roar afterwards.

“At this rate, she is going to raze this city completely…” the blonde beside the other warrior muttered fearfully.

“Woah… She has more tricks up her sleeve?!” she exclaimed, wiping drool off of her mouth. “Hey, hey, what do you think will happen?”

“I do not know, but we must stop her lest we perish along with everything else.”

“O Raijin—I grant thee permission to unchain thine inner fury. Let thunder and lightning of the Heavens linger unfettered across the mortal realm once more!”

With the Goddess’ Spell Words chanted once more, another set of thunder was heard along with the wails of a woman. The darkness encroached Palermo’s buildings mostly, while overtaking the seas and the ships docked in the harbor.

Taking it as a cue, the redhead took the spear in both hands and charged towards the Goddess, not wanting to see the fruition of whatever spell she was casting at that time. She had been taught to know when she was full—and it was enough excitement for her for a single day. Aiming her thrust towards the Goddess’ throat, the wail suddenly became louder, more than the sound of the heavy rains hitting the ground, and more than the deafening sound of the thunder. She saw herself as a rotting corpse, with worms, centipedes, maggots and filth covering it. It was a disgusting vision, and her movements froze at that instant.

The scream of Izanami resounded loudly under her skull and she could feel blood flowing out of her eyes and ears, her brain ached horribly and she couldn’t even give voice to her pain.

“Look out!”

She found herself rolling over the layer of rice as the blonde mage pushed her away. Thunder raged, and it burned the woman that saved her.

A magical shroud stood in vigil upon her back but even then, she seemed to have suffered a burn on her back.

Hands shaking from her vision, she crawled towards her savior, with the spear in hand. Eventually she found herself beside the heavily wounded blonde, and saw that she was in no position to fight as she was. She raised her hand above her savior’s burns, but the wounds did something to her that she didn’t expect. Suddenly, those disgusting images with her corpse and the maggots—they all came flooding back in her head. Similarly to when she had drunk far too much wine that one time, the redhead was staring nowhere in a daze—until color returned back to her eyes, which were now filled with her will to survive, and save the blonde.

She replaced her hands over the burns once more, and started chanting. At this point of mana exhaustion, the best she could do was ease her companion’s pain as the chorus of the Goddess’ chant and the stormy skies tried to extinguish her hopes. Satisfied with what she had done for the blonde, she then started working on herself; with what little she had left at least. She pulled herself back up again and readied the spear with her hands that gripped it steady and true. If this was indeed where she would find her end, here where her journey just began, then she wouldn’t wilt and crumble—she’d go out with an explosion.

“Are… are you alright?” her newfound compatriot asked from the ground, even though her own condition was unwell.

“Nona once said… Bah, I forgot! But it is appropriate for our situation! Can you stand?” the redhead asked, as she kept on observing the Goddess for any sudden attacks.

“O Oumiyame no Mikoto, I ask thee to raise the seas and wash the earth of its foolish creations. Let the world be purified so that it may start anew!”

The two mages could now see a large tidal wave from the seas rising after the Goddess recited once more, a red aura burning fiercely, draping her form.

The blonde warrior pulled herself up soon, using the sword of the redhead as a cane. “Listen, we must stop this no matter what, or else we are both to meet our end. I have a plan, but I cannot execute it at my state… will you do the honor?”

“I trust you,” she replied to the blonde. How could she not, after what happened? That being said, she still had the first turn when it came to the tail. At this point however, she’d rather lop it off for herself. “You better hurry with the explanation though.”

She gave a nod in response and pulled up a hand. With a flash of light a small chunk of steel formed. It looked like a piece of a broken sword. The blonde thus placed it over the tip of the lance, and it seemed to become a part of it—increasing its length slightly.

“With this… we might yet have a chance to avert the disaster.” And with that, you would become the next… She closed her eyes in thought and opened them with a renewed smile. “Go get her.”

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPZUPVIGQP0)

“I-I see...”

The action seemed pointless to her, what would that extra range do? But still, she was being true when she said she trusted the blonde, and so with the last of her mana—she charged onwards. As she got within range of the Goddess, she had an idea to throw it once more like a javelin, but would she risk her and the blonde’s life with that?

And so she ran, and ran—past the sea of rice, past the place where the blazing tornado wreaked havoc—past where she stood before the Goddess. Her legs felt the burning sensation of her sprint yet she persisted. A magic circle blossomed under her footsteps—with a leap of faith, she raised the newly-formed lance, thrusting it towards the chest of the chanting Goddess. A satisfying squelch was heard loud and clear; she felt like she had pierced something—as she used her entire body and it’s momentum as a giant projectile as she tackled the Goddess, lacking hesitation all the while.

“Oh? I commend thee for not fleeing, but futile it is—for I am immortal.” As soon as these words were spoken, however, the Goddess coughed and spat blood on the red-haired woman. “What… what did thou add into that accursed blade?!”

“Don’t ask me, idiot,” the redhead coughed it out, grinning to herself as she stroked the Goddess’ tails. “Mhmm… fluffy...”

“The Steel of a War God… to employ such a weapon against me. How careless I hath become…” Yet the Goddess smiled. “O child of man, state thy name.”

“What are you talking abou—Haa… I am Rosaria. Rosaria Testarossa,” she replied, returning the Goddess’ smile with a huge grin of her own. “What’s your name?”

“Oinari. I am the Goddess of many forms… I am—was… immortal, and yet, thou hath bested mineself. How do thou feel—being the murderess of a Goddess?”

“As much as I hate to say it… Blondie over there did as much work as I did, didn’t she?” The redhead, Rosaria, shook her head as she admitted her weakness. “Oinari, huh? I won’t forget this day, or you! Remember that! And you shouldn’t too!”

“Did she now…? Hahahahaha! Very well, I pronounce thee and thy comrade as the victors.” Her body began to crumble, steam leaving from her form. “I congratulate thee for thy ascension to the throne. I thank thee for sating mine earthly desires—and till we meet again—fare thee well.”

The Goddess’ body thus turned to ashes that the breeze carried. The seas had calmed, the raging stormy clouds were quelled, and the darkness had evaporated at long last. At the same time, fatigue caught up to Rosaria. She fell backwards on the bed of rice grains, covered in blood, sweat, and rain.

“That was… fun,” she said groggily as sleep threatened to take her at any moment. “This world… is truly… definitely—interesting!”

At that point, her vision had surely ceased to show her the circle of intertwined tails coming down to her body, a prize trophy that she earned for taking the life of Oinari.

Soon, she would learn that she was to become a King among the Kings—a Godslayer—a Devil King.

Her eyelids parted. It was blurry. She groaned. There was an infinite whiteness—then, there was a person. Someone with unusually purple locks of hair—tied as twintails—looked down to her with a pair of emerald pupils. Her dress was as white as the world they were residing in. Her earrings were red beads of unusual size.

“The black art that Epimetheus and I left behind.”

“The sacred birth of an illegitimate child—shrouded in darkness—born of a fool and a witch.”

“A sacred rite of usurpation, only possible with the sacrifice of a God. All the conditions have met, basically.”

“Indeed, it is a gift of heavens.”

“Wha… Where’s Blondie? And Oinari? Who are you?” Rosaria sat up.

“I am the ever-generous woman, Pandora.”

“Ah!” She covered her mouth as her memories of her fight started flooding back in. After the blonde had added a broken piece of a sword onto the spear, Rosaria managed to run it through the Goddess—which actually managed to kill her. Tears welled up the side of her eyes, which she immediately wiped as she sulked where she sat. Till we meet again… she said. Maybe… Yeah! I am sure we’ll meet again!

She then sprang up and stood proudly in front of the purple haired woman, Pandora. “I am Rosaria! Where’s Blondie? Is she alright?”

“Who knows. You’re currently in the realm between life and death.” Pandora smiled. “You can call me mom if you want.”

“Eh? Why?” The vast fields of nothing but the color white utterly startled Rosaria, and while she surveyed the place in wonder, she finally realized that they were the only two people in this place. “Am I dead?”

“Sorta?”

“Oh no… Hmmm, well, at least I got to rub Oinari’s tail. Are you dead too?”

“Perhaps? Anyway, you managed to slay that Oinari—which means your body was sacrificed for this ritual to end the life of the Goddess.”

“Oh no…. Nona’s going to be pissed!” the redhead sat where she stood, looking extremely terrified, holding her head in panic. “H-hey… did I really just kill someone? Will I be imprisoned?! Oh no...”

“Ufufu, don’t worry. You killed a Goddess, this ritual required the sacrifice of said Goddess. You are to become a King of Kings. Soon, you’ll be revived anew, with a body greater than ever.”

“R-really? I can do those things like Oinari did?” She looked pleadingly towards Pandora with her tearful eyes and reddened nose while hugging her legs close.

“That’s right, but it depends on what Authority you usurp from Oinari.”

“Authority? What’s that?”

“An Authority is a Divine right of a God. When you usurp one for yourself by killing a God, you gain one of their powers for yourself.”

The world then started to shake and rumble, as even when seated, Rosaria almost fell flat on her back. But it seemed that she was the only one who felt nauseated as the lady called Pandora stood there in front of her as she did the whole time. Surprised, the redhead tried to stand up, but immediately fell on her butt as she did, getting more nauseosus by the second.

“I took something… from Oinari? W-what’s happening?!”

She could hardly hear anything, but could see the lips of Pandora moving.

“You… becoming… resurrected… I believe…”

Again, her eyelids parted and her vision resumed. Blurry, it took some moments to recognize a ceiling of gray and concrete. Groaning, Rosaria pulled herself up, finding herself on a large bed. It was a very peaceful environment—a big, highly-decorated room—with the glass doors of the balcony open, a calm breeze swept inside. Bells hung beside the open door chimed softly.

“Ugh… What happened?” she asked, alone in an unfamiliar place. At least it seemed that someone had picked her up after the events of last night. She recalled that blow that she dealt to Oinari—who was highly probable to be dead now. Rosaria would’ve thought to run away now that she was awake, but even in the village where she grew up, she had not heard a story about a prison with open doors.

Standing up, Rosaria ran a hand through her beautiful red hair like a comb, as she walked towards the glass doors. The feeling of the breeze as it lovingly caressed her face was pleasant, and made her relaxed as she stepped out to the balcony.

“GOOD MORNING!” Rosaria shouted arms stretched apart, feeling energized.

“A little too loud for the morning, would you not agree?”

Rosaria thus found the blonde warrior she had fought the Goddess with before her, sitting on a chair beside a table on the large balcony.

“Good morning, Blondie!” she greeted, now her hands were on her hips as she stood with a wide stance.

“Good morning, nobody.” The blonde shrugged. “I beg your pardon but I do have a name.”

“Yeah, and I am Rosaria! Remember that!” The redhead scolded her, raising her pointer finger as she bent over towards the blonde. “Anyway, you are okay now.”

“Yes, I am fine now. I thank you for the healing. Regardless, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. “My name is Marie Auguste.”

Rosaria immediately looked troubled, crossing her arms, deep in thought. “Marie, it is, then. What happened after? Before you ask me, I can’t pay you since I just used the jewels I was going to sell against Oinari! I’m broke now!” she exclaimed, sounding rather haughty for someone who was completely broke.

Marie quietly drank tea from the cup as she listened. “Take a seat?”

“Okay,” Rosaria took a seat in front of the blonde. “What happened? Oh! Who cleaned up that pile of grains? Haa… that must suck.”

“The members of my organization are working to cover the situation up at the moment. More importantly Rosaria—no, Godslayer—how do you feel?”

“I’m hungry, wait—don’t pin it all at me! You killed her as much as I did!”

“Yes, as much as I would share with you the glory, you dealt the final blow. Congratulations—you are a Godslayer now. I hope you realize what this means.”

“Eh? A—Aha...haha. Of course I do!” She averted her gaze as she laughed awkwardly. At least it doesn’t look like they want to imprison me…

“Is it me, or do you not know about the Devil Kings that inhabit this world? Your lack of joy is rather unnerving.””

“O-Of course I do! The hero then defeats them, right?! Everyone knows that!”

“What does that have to do with this? You challenged a Goddess because you are a fool who wished to usurp her Authority, did you not?”

“What are you saying? I just happened to pass by her.”

Marie blinked. “Is that so? Well, you became a King by chance, I suppose. What sheer luck indeed.”

“Oooh… Do I get servants? Or a castle? Can I have that one that was near our village? Ha! I knew running away was a good idea!” By the upwards turn of her nose, it was prominent that she was actually proud of the whole thing, regardless of her lack of information.

“It appears you are uneducated in this matter after all. Tsk, tsk, tsk.” The lady before her shook her head in disappointment. “Have you heard of the term †˜Campione’ before?”

“No, what’s that? Have you got any food, by the way? I could go for some breakfast,” she replied, giving a curious tilt of her head when Marie shook her head. What’s the big deal about this Campione thing?

So she does not know the word †˜champion’ in her language… Marie sighed internally. “A Campione is a King of Kings, a Devil King, a Godslayer—they are the only individuals who may truly stand the ground against the Heretic Gods. I am trying to tell you, Miss Rosaria—that you are one of those individuals now, you are a Campione, someone who usurped the Authority of a God and became one who is infused with such Divine power.”

“Hah! So I do have some thorns after all! But don’t you get that Authority too?”

“No, I have already said that you dealt the final blow—using my weapon, anyway.”

“Oh, then… What now?”

“You would be the tentative eighth King, I suppose?”

“Yeah, I mean… can I go now?”

“And?”

“Well, I would continue on my travels… say, have you found my sword?”

“It is with you, though.” The lady finished her tea. “Anyway, you are going to have to act more responsibly now that you are a King—I cannot possibly let you wander when you are…” She glanced at Rosaria tersely. “A living, breathing mons—I mean, a person of great power.”

“You sound like Nona,” she said with a harrumph. “If you’re not to let me go, then at least feed me breakfast!”

Marie took up a hand, holding a bell before ringing it. In some moments, the door to her room opened and a cart full of cakes and other gorgeous sweets was brought over to them on the balcony. The table was abruptly parked with rich items atop the plates that Rosaria had never seen before, and the maid soon gave a terse bow and walked away.

“There, help yourself now.”

“Hoho, don’t mind if I do!” Rosaria said, wiggling her fingers and running a tongue across her lips. In a flash, she had a bunch of differently decorated sweets on her plate and started taking pieces and tasting them with, rather surprisingly, her fork. With that restraint drilled into her for hours by her grandmother, Rosaria began picking the ones she loved the most and ate with much gusto. It seemed that the news about being a Campione, or even what had transpired the night before faded in her mind just as soon as the food was placed in front of her.

“At least consume with more grace. You look like a beast unchained from its cage.”

“Mmhmm? †˜Ant some?” She swallowed before finishing her sentence, and stuck out a fork with what seemed to be a strawberry shortcake balancing on top of it. “This one’s good, try it!”

“Unfortunately, I am not as famished as you.”

“So, what’s the plan, Marie?” Rosaria asked, arbitrarily deciding that she’d stick with the blonde for the meanwhile.

“Well, seeing as you are a King now, it would be wise to prepare for the future. Likely, you would meet many more deities, and even other Campiones, and would get into many conflicts. Seeing your personality, I am able to find the plausibility in such a theory. You are a King, so you must learn to be more responsible, for it is your job to fight the Heretic Gods now, since you are one of the few that may resist their powers. Which would mean… if you cannot control your powers—you die.”

Rosaria’s eyes twinkled in delight, and she clapped her hands together in utter glee. “I’d meet more like Oinari you say?! Ohoho, it was as Nona said, fate really is by my side!”

“In a way, it is but an elaborate torture. If you enjoy it though, I suppose it is fine.”

“What do you mean? Didn’t we meet there too? I mean, you do sound like an old woman sometimes, but we’re friends now, so don’t worry about it!” She smiled and winked towards Marie, before returning to the food in her plate.

“Old, you say?”

“Old woman,” she corrected.

“It feels like you need to die.”

“Eh?” She looked at Marie and tilted her head to the side, her fork still stuck in her mouth. “Nevermind that, tell me how I could meet more of Oinari’s kind!”

“Why would you want that? That would only bring disaster to the people around you. Just sit tight in a cave and be a breeding sow, maybe something will come to you instead.”

“Ehh, won’t that suit you better?” Rosaria pouted and stared at Marie’s chest.

“It suits you best who insults a lady without thought.”

“Oh… Ahaha, you’re angry I called you old, aren’t you? How cute!” She laughed heartily, covering her mouth with the back of her hand, and tilted her head back ever so slightly.

“I do not wish to hear that from a person who should be hung for speaking to begin with. Anyway, what would you like to do now?”

“Hmmm, I could go for a bath...” She put a finger on her chin as she started thinking. “Oh! Where could I get a weapon like yours, by the way?”

“Why would you need a weapon like mine when you have your own? That is a sad thing to say.”

“W-what are you saying? I won’t give you my Nona’s sword!” Rosaria hugged herself and tilted her body away from Marie.

“No one wants that old rugged thing. Did I mention that I wanted it?”

“That’s right, it’s mine! But I will take more, and more! I’d collect all these things, and then more still!”

“You do not need more. One is good enough.” I suppose this is what makes her a King, though. What a pathetic irony.

“Hmp, you just don’t understand!” Rosaria stood up and faced the sea with her arms outstretched. “This world interests me! It is mine to explore, and her treasures, mine to collect! What wonders did she prepare for me, I wonder? Truly, this world, Oinari, You, and everyone else, I love them all! Ahahahahaha!” She ended her speech with her hands on her hips, looking towards the horizon proudly.

“You should not love them if you harm them, though.”

“That just happens, nothing we can do about that!”

“There is one thing we may do, lock you in a dungeon.” Marie smiled. “But I suppose you would get out and cause trouble anyway.”

“Ahahaha! You know me so well!” Rosaria faced towards Marie with a cheeky grin. “You should teach me that stuff you did!”

“Hm? What stuff?”

“Like when you crossed blades with Oinari, that was magnificent!” Rosaria acted as if she held a sword and started mimicking sword movements, striking a pose here and there.

“You seem to be trained in the way of the sword, though. Well, in an extremely brash and inelegant manner, that is.”

“That is why—teach me!” Rosaria then clung to Marie from behind, rubbing her soft cheeks against the blonde.

“Ah, jeez, do not touch me—look, you are clearly lacking in discipline! To be a knight like me you have to stop being an idiot. Do you think you truly have what it takes for such a thing?”

“Mhmm, yeah, yeah, discipline and such,” she remarked, enjoying the feeling of hugging Marie. After that, she let go of the blonde and gestured towards herself. “Listen well! Nona told me that anything I want to do, I could, if I put my back into it!”

“A metaphorical person, is she not? Sounds much wiser than you. However, if you only live by the words of others, you would never be living for yourself—you would be a failure of a warrior.”

“Nuh-uh, Nona is truly wise, even if she’s stingy!” She wagged her finger towards Marie. “I wanted to explore and she said no, so I left home—and the first thing I found was Oinari herself, and then you! So it’s true, what Nona said: I can do what I want, I just have to put my back into it!”

“If Nona is truly wise—I believe she would agree with me even more so, then.”

“That does sound plausible… Oh well,” she dismissed the thought immediately.

“To be a knight it would take many days of sincere training. It is not something one may walk into completely casually as you wish to. You seem like the person who would be distracted by the slightest of efforts.”

“Muu, you not having confidence in me is a bit irritating. I could do it, you’ll see!”

“I have only met you today. You have no guarantee to provide your sincerity. Honestly, that is the least of your worries. You should learn to use your Authority first, as I had priorly stated.”

“I don’t know about that, though. Could you teach me how to use it?”

“I had never heard anything about how to use it. So, we must learn of it somehow. All the Campiones seem to just employ them whenever they wish.”

“Ooh, let me try it then!” She then skipped to the middle of the balcony, raising her left hand into the air. She stood there for a while, as the sea breeze rolled past them. “Authority!”

Her large grin soon faded and turned into a look of uncertainty as she tilted her head and asked, “Uhmmm… what do I do now?”

“Concentrate?”

“Pfft, so you also had no idea.” She shrugged her shoulders smugly, while she shook her head.

“I am not a Campione, my smart King. I only met one and she was beyond anything human, and could do everything flawlessly.”

“Muu… how come you praise her so easily and yet.” She pouted and crossed her arms, deep in thought. “Authority, huh? Oh well, it will come when I need it to! It always does!” Rosaria raised her thumb towards Marie with a wink.

Of course I would praise her easily… “Hm. Shall we… find you an opponent?” A sly smile came to her. “A Heretic God may be the only medicine to this wound.”

“Oh! That’s a brilliant idea. Let’s do that, right now!”

“Very well.” Marie got off her chair. “I shall depart for a Lys Blanc chapter. Would you like to come along?”

“Why not, I’m broke anyways. Whose clothes am I wearing, by the way?” she asked, before she twirled around.

“Mine. I am the only daughter of the family.”

“Huh, I imagined if it were yours, the chest would be tighter,” Rosaria went ahead and cupped her own bosom. “This fits rather snugly.”

“Does it matter?”

“Ehehe...” She seemed to be too fascinated with cupping her own breasts, and forgot the topic of their conversation for a while. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, “Ah, wait! Where’s this Heretic God?”

“I just said I shall depart for the Lys Blanc chapter.” Marie walked out of the balcony, walking past Rosaria. “To find out where one may be.”

“I’ll come! Let me take my sword, first!”

From dressing up to walking out of the mansion, they spent fifteen minutes. The city was very unfamiliar beyond the gates of the grounds that seemed to be owned by Marie’s family as they strode up to a car.

“You ever rode one of these before?” Marie asked to Rosaria as a servant opened the door.

“Nope, this will be fun! Can I drive?” Rosaria’s eye sparkled, as she walked around the vehicle, inspecting its every nook and cranny with interest.

“No…? Have you ever driven before?”

“Huh? Of course not, are you an idiot?” Rosaria looked at Marie as if she said something absurd.

“Are you an idiot? Why would you ever want to drive without proper practice in it? You’d get people killed. Do not ever try to drive, you hear me?”

“Geh, stingy,” she pouted, looking longingly at the steering wheel. “Why, can [/i]you[/i] drive?”

“That is something the peasants do. Money exists for a reason, young King.”

“Hahahaha!” The redhead held her stomach laughing, she even had tears welling up in her eyes from her mirthful laughter. “So you can’t! And I almost thought you could from the way you spoke!”

Marie only blinked. “Why should I learn to do something plebeians should?”

“Mistress, I believe your friend has the illness of an absolute idiot. Shall we take her to a doctor?” the servant said.

“Oh no, Mister Sasha, no doctor could cure such Kingly idiocy,” Marie said with a sigh, holding her forehead with her fingertips.

“Anyway, I shall leave the driving to you as usual.”

“It shall be my pleasure, Mistress.”

Marie thus boarded the vehicle and ushered Rosaria to do the same.

“So, where’s this Bla-Black Lice was it?” Rosaria asked, swinging her legs happily as she sat closely beside Marie.

“Lys Blanc. It means White Lily in French. I do not need to tell you when you may observe yourself. Also, do not sit so close to me.”

“Eh, why not?”

“There is plenty of space here, Miss Rosaria.”

“I’m just Rosaria, and I’ll call you Marie!” Rosaria said, poking Marie’s soft cheeks. Before the blonde could react, the redhead then stuck herself in between the front seats, deciding to question the driver next. “Hey, hey, what’s your name? Could you teach me how to drive?”

“That is just rude. Both of what you are suggesting and doing, by the by.”

“Eh?”

“My name is Sasha, and no, I fear we’d lose this car for some reason.”

“Your hunch is absolutely correct, Mister Sasha,” Marie said.

“I can’t?” Rosaria looked at Sasha pleadingly, her rosy lips in a cute pout.

“W-Well…”

“Do not be fooled, Sasha, this person here was trained by the wise. Even if she is herself a fool, her tools are different,” Marie stated.

“Ah, I apologize, I almost fell for it.”

“Geh, stingy!” She sank back to her seat, twirling her scarlet locks around her finger. It did not take long before she started asking Marie questions again. “By the way, how did you find us last night?”

“By searching,” Marie answered.

“For what? How? Did you follow our scent?! I have to tell you, I used to have a dog who can do the same thing!”

“Oh, I am sure we mages use dogs to find the Heretic Gods.”

“I knew it! Can I see the dog? Gasp, did you leave him behind? Tsk tsk, that’s not how you take care of one,” she scolded.

“Do not teach me how to do things.” Marie frowned.

“Hmp, I bet you’d ask Sancho here to feed the dog, rather than do it yourself!”

“Only the lower class feed the dogs, did the oh-great-Nona not teach you that?”

“Ha! Nona once said: those who fail to feed their dogs become the dog feed themselves!” Rosaria said in a sagely manner, closing her eyes and nodding to herself, while twirling her pointer finger around.

“I did not know Nona is unintelligent too. How sad.”

Rosaria suddenly got uncharacteristically silent, furrowing her eyebrows. “Don’t say that… Nona is the wisest!”

Marie shrugged. “Then do not quote her, learn to use your own brain. If she is the wisest then she surely ditched half her job of teaching you basic manners.”

“Besides, Lady Marie is paying us to do her work, so she is getting the highest quality feeds for the hunting dogs. Well, assuming we had some,” Sasha said.

“Not like a mage even needs one,” Marie said.

“Indeed.”

The driver and the Mistress laughed together.

“Hmp, can’t even drive...” Rosaria blew her cheeks and turned towards the window. What she saw was a city ancient, yet beautiful, lined with old buildings that appeared to be rich in history. “Oh hey! What’s this place?”

“Feo Di Vito.”

“Hmm?” she turned towards the blonde. “Have you been there before?”

“I have been here for two years now.”

“Ah, I thought you lived in that other place, though?”

“Other place?”

“Yeah, that place where I woke up, isn’t that your house?” She sat once again beside Marie.

“Well, yes. We are still in the same city, though. And do not get so close again.”

“Whoa, this is bigger than I imagined… Is this a normal thing for cities?” She paid no heed to Marie’s request, and continued with her questions.

“It appears to be about the general size. There are far bigger ones, though. The main headquarters is in Rome, which I am to return to in about some days.”

“Oh! I’ve heard they had this big arena there… I’ll come with you!”

“Hm, I suppose you should meet my father and cultivate your connections, now that you are a King.”

“You father, huh? I’m interested, let’s do it!”

“I do not mind, I suppose. Hopefully, we find your opponent and deal with it before that happens.”

“I hope it is as cute as Oinari...”

“The only other God I met before was… not quite pretty, more masculine.”

“Geh. Boring, you could have him, if that’s the case,” she replied with a huff.

“It is your responsibility to fight them as you are the King, though. You cannot be a child about everything now, can you?”

“Oh, if I defeat it, would you let me drive?”

“No, but I would let you accompany me.”

“Hmp, then I won’t fight it!” She crossed her arms and blew a raspberry.

Marie shrugged. “If you say so. You are the King so it is your decision, regardless of how irresponsible and shallow it is.”

“Hmmm, I’d like to see it anyway, it might be cute.” She put a finger on her chin. “Well, we’ll see, I guess? Ahahaha!”

So she could find a muscular God cute after all…?

The chapter of Lys Blanc was a spectacular sight as the latest Campione stood in awe before it, featuring Romanesque architecture. She could see an insignia of an encircled white lily surrounded by a pair of winged-angels, one to its left and one to its right. The servant bowed as Marie proceeded wordlessly, but turned to find Rosaria staring at the structure.

“Are you coming or not?” Marie asked.

“Whoa, you really are rich,” Rosaria said, staring at awe at the bowing maids and the majestic structure in front of here. “So this is the Black Lice, huh?”

“Lys Blanc. Now, shall we proceed?”

“Close enough! Let’s go!” the redhead replied and headed towards the entrance with much excitement, joining Marie as Sasha stayed behind with the vehicle.

Now inside the structure, she found many tapestries and portraits decorating the front hall. Most of the interior design lacked color and were plainly white, which seemed to be the theme along with the designs accompanying the motif of lilies across the premises.

“I suppose I shall formally welcome you to the chapter of Lys Blanc, my dear Campione—we hope that our relationship will be beneficial for you,” Marie stated, now sounding very formal and respectable.

“Huh? What are you talking about? We’re already friends, aren’t we?”

“You are a King, so this is the least you deserve.” Marie made a sly smile. “For now.”

“Hmmmm,” she grumbled and crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes towards Marie.

They continued down a hallway and soon stopped. Marie knocked upon a door and it soon opened, a servant holding the doors open for them. There were various books filling the shelves inside, with many tables parked and few members in white reading what appeared to be large tomes holding magnifying glasses. Marie approached one who stood by the window, overlooking a tree.

“Good morning, Mister David.”

“Good morning, Lady Marie. May I ask you to report regarding the incident yesterevening?”

“Unfortunately, the wayward Heretic God had departed from Palermo by the time I had arrived.”

Indeed, it was too early to create a commotion by making an announcement of the birth of a new King here.

“I see, that is bad… It appears that we must expand our range of search.”

“More importantly, have there been other sightings? If so, I would prefer to check them out.”

“That’s rare, I thought you’d rather stay home… well, since you say so, there is a suspected Heretic God near Siena.”

“Is that so…? I see, my friend and I shall make way immediately.”

“Your friend…?” David looked at Rosaria from down to up with an inquisitive gaze. “Who are you, you’re not part of our organization, are you?”

“Hey, mister—teach me swordsmanship like Marie, too!” Rosaria asked, who up to now had been admiring the sights, and roaming around. She just returned to Marie’s side just enough to hear about the Heretic God and so, with her interest piqued, she approached the man and spoke, “Actually, you found another one?! I’m gonna kick its butt again!”

“I would if I was paid to. I’m a busy man, unfortunately.”

“Please, mister? You wouldn’t want to let a fragile girl like me be hurt, right?” She stuck close to the man and was about to use her ultimate magic when she saw Marie’s look at her.

“I’d recommend not going to a battlefield if you don’t want to be hurt then…”

“Geh, you really are in the same organization as Marie. Anyway, where’s that God thing?”

“Well, your friend knows now, so please excuse me.” David gave a terse bow towards Marie and walked away.

“He is as unsociable as one could get—kind of like you, in fact,” Marie commented, looking at David’s visage as he left.

“Eh?” She gave Marie an inquisitive look. “Is he a shy type of guy?”

“In a way, I suppose?”

“Ohohoho, how adorable! He’s kinda like you!”

“He is rather rude and brash, though. How is that adorable?”

“Nevermind that! Where’s the next God?” Once again, she clung to Marie, shaking her.

“Do not touch me! And did you not hear our conversation?”

“Wasn’t listening! It’s a waste of your silky softness if no one touches it, so I would take on that obligation!”

“…Idiot. The next is in Siena.”

“Ehehehe! Off we go, then!” Rosaria rubbed her cheek against Marie’s as she pumped her fist into the air.

Marie pushed her away as she noticed the stares. “Stop trying to embarrass me in public.”

“Why, we’re friends aren’t we?” That being said, the redhead wore a teasing grin on her face.

“That does not excuse your clingliness.”

“Mhmm!” She ran towards the exit and with her hands on her back, spun around to face Marie. “Come! Let’s go!”

“Right, right.” Marie followed. I shudder to expose this King to the world…

Located in the central part of Tuscany, the pair arrived at Siena by train, and soon exited from the station. How Rosaria reacted to the trains and its mechanism was a story for another time, but Marie managed to hold her wits quite well. This was the biggest city Rosaria had been to yet, a far cry to the previous port city she was in with her. Wherever she looked, there were a myriad of houses and structures. In some distance, the tower protruding from the cathedral was apparent—but little did she knew that its surrounding area was in ruins.

The sky was clear, and it was now the afternoon, with the sun at its zenith.

“Ahaha! What a big city this is—I’m going to go exploring! Prepare yourself, city of Sunny!” she said standing proudly, pointing towards the horizon. Her sword was currently transmuted to appear as a highly-stylized bangles that hung around her wrists.

“It appears to be peaceful so far. Which is good, but it does not help us with finding the Heretic God immediately,” Marie said from behind Rosaria.

“I’m sure we’ll find her soon!” Rosaria said giddily, unable to contain her excitement. “Let’s head… uh… That way!”

“That there is a dead end, my young King.”

“That’s right, if we see it, it’s a dead end for it!”

“Go right ahead, then.”

In a matter of moments, what Marie said was proven true as Rosaria came back, shoulders slumped. “It was a dead end… What a dumb city.”

“Anyway, shall we go?”

“Yeah, let’s go! Hurry up!” Once again, she ran randomly in another direction. After she gained a considerable distance from Marie, she spun around her heel and faced towards Marie. “Come on, it might get away!”

Marie shrugged and followed. “I would rather it gets away peacefully, though.”

“Oh! What’s that?” The redhead suddenly turned to the west as something caught her eye, before running off towards it. After a few moments, she returned to Marie’s side hugging a bag of red apples close to her chest while munching on another. “Look! A kind guy gave me some of his apples, want some?”

Marie went to the man in the market stall and produced a purse from a pocket, leaving some coins to his hand. “No thanks, feel free to consume them yourself,” she told Rosaria as she thanked him.

“Your loss,” she replied as she continued shamelessly eating the apple she had in her hand. “So, where are we supposed to go now, Marie?”

“I thought you wished to explore?”

“Oh yeah.” She licked her fingers, tossing the uneaten core into a conveniently placed rubbish bin. “Where would we find one though? Should we ask the police?”

“I do not know, and I doubt the police would know either. Do as you usually do and explore—if fate wills it, you may just find it.”

“Hmmmm.” She scrunched her eyebrows, imagining where she would go if she were a Godlike being. Eventually her thoughts brought her to where she met Oinari, and after a while her face lit up as she skipped in front of Marie, which stopped her in her tracks. “What if we find some place where something strange was happening?”

“Nothing strange is happening around here, though.”

“Man, what would you guys do without me,” she said proudly, “I will find her for you, then!”

“We would call someone who is smart for once.”

“Ahahaha!” She then started merrily skipping down the streets, looking to and fro without really a direction in mind. She appeared as a tourist than a prospective Godslayer, as she took in the sights and sounds of the city—but in a way, she really was both.

“Say, where did you live before you began your adventure?”

“Hmmm? In Acri! What about you?”

“Acri…? Oh, that one village afar. No wonder. I hail from France.”

“Is it true that you guys eat snails and frogs and that kind of stuff, with cheese? I like cheese!”

“I have never eaten snails and frogs, so I believe you are mistaken. Cheese is a bit of a staple everywhere.”

“Peh, boring!” She stuck out her tongue and then started on another apple. She continued to look around, but saw nothing that interested her a lot so far.

“Why? If you wish to consume snails and frogs and dirt—oh and some cockroaches, I would be happy to feed you, King.”

“Hoho, as my Royal Taste Tester, I expect the best from you!”

“I expect the best from your Royal Taste Tester too,” Marie said, pointing at Rosaria’s tongue.

“Let’s go to a museum!” Rosaria suddenly blurted out.

“You are free to go.”

“Where is it?!”

“Go find it.” She took out a phone and tapped on it for a moment. “I am going to go look for it on my own, if that is okay with you.”

“Whoa, is that a mobile phone? Nona didn’t want me to have one, myself.”

“Smartphone.”

“But it looks dumb,” she said, tilting her head quizzically.

“Just like you, yes. Anyway, we part ways here.”

“Geh, meanie.” She ran away again, taking some time to turn around and sticking her tongue out towards Marie, before she eventually disappeared from the blonde knight’s view.

Marie let out a sigh. It was as though she was a white blood cell that combated the disease all day—finally achieving freedom from its invasion.

“Alright, now to find a hotel and forget about this midget for some time…”

Rosaria spent her time enjoying the city’s sights, the search for the Heretic God almost abandoned in favor of her grand tour. Eventually, she had ran out of apples, and after disposing her trash in a bin, she just sat down on a nearby bench, resting while she watched the sun set on the horizon. She was humming to herself, completely satisfied with what she did for the day. Moments passed by in relative peace, until she got another urge to roam around again—which she did, considering that she didn’t have much else to do.

Eventually, she found her way in front of a building filled with various lights and music, both of which took hold of her attention from afar. She stood in front of this building, awestruck; immediately, she decided that she’d head inside—only to be stopped by the man at the door, who glared at her rather intimidatingly. After a short glaring contest, the young King huffed angrily and was stuck to giving annoyed looks at the man from afar.

Suddenly, she ran out of sight like a kid who gave up on something she couldn’t buy. But it was far from the truth, as Rosaria found herself in a women’s restroom, transmuting her clothes into what Marie wore before—a simple, but elegant dress. Feeling satisfied with her work, she then took a rather mundane piece of metal, transmuting it into a decorative hairpin, before proceeding into tying up her hair into an intricate bun, giving a matured look to her young face. As she stood in front of the mirror, Rosaria transformed from her young refreshing look, into a somewhat redheaded version of Marie—but with a seductive smile in comparison with Marie’s stern look. At least it terms of fashion.

Without missing a beat, Rosaria headed back to the casino, even giving effort to walk in a proud stride. Compared to her initial approach, she walked as if she were just visiting the baker in her town, confidently and naturally. The guard gave her a questioning look as she neared the entrance, but she answered by sending a seductive smile towards his direction. And thus, with a wink, she finally managed to enter the establishment.

There, she found many individuals, all gambling. There were no children. Some adults watched the games unfold while the others sat on the chairs of the myriad of tables parked across the floor. She could see various machines and stalls, and on the other side were tables with one man for each at their centers, distributing what appeared to be cards to their players. The sounds of rolling balls were heard and soon she found herself staring at the roulette. As it stopped rolling, the people cheered, while some appeared dejected.

To a village girl such as her, it was like she had entered some sort of an amusement park as she watched the differing reactions between the people who were playing and watching just like her. She had observed as they played and betted with coins that she did not see outside before. It was a matter of inevitability that she eventually wanted to play too, watching the people move around, eventually she found the place where people exchanged money for chips—finally reaching an impassable crevasse. Up to now, she managed to survive by sticking to Marie as she still had no way to obtain money after expending her jewels in the fight with Oinari.

Dejected, she returned to the tables, watching the others have fun while she was stuck thinking of a way to obtain these chips.

“You were not invited here, were you?”

Turning, Rosaria found a lady in a jet black bunny outfit. Her hair was similarly blonde like Marie, but it possessed a much brighter shade. Her eyes were as crimson as Rosaria’s hair, and she seemed to have a mirthful smile on her face as she looked down upon the uninvited guest.

“Yeap! Why are you wearing that outfit?” Rosaria asked, giving a thorough look at the blonde.

“It is the uniform for the women that work here. Nice for the men, yes?” Even if it was a question, the woman seemed to already know the answer.

“Oooh… Can I wear one too?!”

“Well, do you work here?”

“Can I? I will!” Her eyes sparkled, clapping her hands together, while looked at the bunny suit. “Oh, I am Rosaria, by the way.”

“Don’t think we’re hiring, though, Miss Rosaria.” She smiled. It was clearly sly. “Too bad, but I won’t kick you out, so don’t fret.”

“Booooring!” The redhead pouted and crossed her arms, something that seemed to be consistent with her adventures so far. “How can I play then, instead?”

“Mnm…” The bunnygirl crossed her arms similarly like her. “Do you have any money?”

“I sure don’t!” Something that Rosaria noticed lately was she seemingly lost her downtimes, almost always feeling energetic. In a way her senses always felt vigilant and ready, readily feeding into her uncapped enthusiasm.

“You might have to take pleasure in observation then.” The bunnygirl made an apologetic smile.

“Boo...” She blew her cheeks up, red faced.

“Well, I could pay for you for a game or two, I suppose?”

“Hahaha! Thanks, you could watch me win!” she said, pumped up.

“So, what would you like to play? I’ll let you play up to three times.”

“Hmmm, what to play… I want those noisy things!” She pointed at the slots. “And that thing with the wheel too!” And then the roulettes. “How bout those guys, they’re silent, and it looks funny… I want to try that too!” Finally she pointed at the poker table.

“The table games? I suppose you could. Shall we go for the slots for now?”

Rosaria nodded as she happily skipped to the slot machines, humming a tune all the while. As she sat down before one, the lady handed her some coins.

“Insert one of these coins to play the slot machine,” the bunnygirl said. “It’s a simple game, you’re going to see symbols pop up, and depending on the combination, you win different amounts of money, sometimes you don’t get anything though if you’re unlucky.”

“Ohoho, what an interesting game!” Rosaria wasted no time with ceremonies as she inserted the coin into the slot and pulled the lever in one swift action. Coins started to fall into the box, but it released only a little in terms of winning. Irritated, she did it once more—with the same results.

“W-what a formidable opponent!” she shouted, pulling away in shock as she looked at the machine as if she was looking at a convicted murderer. She stood from her seat and backed up, maintaining some sort of an eye contact at her inorganic rival. “Prepare yourself!” She then slotted her final token.

After a rather unclimactic fanfare of the machine, it began dispensing the same amount of coins as before. In the end, Rosaria won just roughly around the same amount that she started with. She turned to the bunny-girl, teary-eyed, as she gave the girl her pathetic winnings. “That was fun!”

“Was it? I’m glad! What’d you like to try next?” the bunnygirl asked. “The roulette?”

“Yeah, I wanna play that wheelie thing!” She then went to the roulette tables in a hurry, nimbly evading other players and staff that were on her way. It was a feat of agility and finesse that would’ve looked awe-inspiring were it to be done anywhere else.

The other woman followed her slowly. She instructed her how to progress with this game too like the slot machines, and soon, Rosaria was asked to choose a number to bet on. Rosaria immediately placed her chips on the inside, on the number 0—the only number that was colored in green on the board. She was grinning as she waited for the wheel to be spun, paying no heed to some of the looks that were given to her by some of the men on the table.

The wheel was spun, and Rosaria leaned over to see the ball run on the sides of the wheel. When it slowed down, it bounced a few times before finally it settled on a spot—a red spot, whose number she couldn’t see, but it most certainly wasn’t the green 0 she had hoped for. Once again, she had gambled and lost.

“Awww… I lost again!” She walked and stood beside the bunny, completely deflated

“Well, one more game left.”

“Oh, oh, how †˜bout you play this one? I want to see someone win!”

The bunnygirl giggled. “It may not be appropriate for an employee like me to play, though.”

“Ah, don’t worry about that! I have a plan, fufu. Now, come with me!” She held the bunny’s hand and pulled her towards the women’s room.

“I am not going to change out of my outfit,” she said making an apologetic smile. “I like it too much to do that.”

“Geh… Well, what should we do now?” Rosaria scratched her head.

“Play it yourself? Or are you scared of losing?”

“If you put it that way… Alright! Let’s go!” She headed back out again, heading straight to the poker tables.

As she betted chips and the man of the table gave the cards out after shuffling skillfully, Rosaria picked up her cards as instructed by the bunnygirl, who took a peek at her deck and suppressed a laughter.

“Alright! So, how do I play this game?” she asked, giving an innocent smile towards her opponents.

The other gentlemen looked at her as if she woke up on the wrong side of her bed. The lady beside her whispered more instructions into her ear. Realizing that there were quite a bit more rules than she’d like, Rosaria decided that she’d use her own way—and with that, the game started. She took a single glance at her cards and even she knew that they were terrible. What she didn’t know, however, that her troubled expression was rather endearing to her opponents.

For the first few rounds, it seemed that she was finally getting lucky as she won her first few hands, not noticing that her opponents were too fascinated by her energy and looks to focus on the game. Eventually, they realized that they were losing actual cash to this monster of a girl and renewed their focus on the game, slowly chipping away her lead—until they finally ran her out of money, kicking her out of the table.

Hitting the rock bottom from her short, sad stint as a gambler, she wobbled out of her seat.

“Too bad, huh?” the bunnygirl said, still making a genuine smile. “Well, it’s not a game you can win with just luck, so it’s a little understandable.”

“Yeah… Well, at least a kind guy gave me this!” she replied, showing the bunny chips that equalled to what she used to buy in in the first place. In between the chips, a piece of paper fell of—containing a name of a hotel with a room number attached to it. Curiously, Rosaria picked it up and stared at it, clueless as to what it implied. “Huh, he accidentally gave me his address… What if he gets lost?! Should I return it?”

“No, silly, he gave it so you could go and have some fun with him!”

“Huh. What does that even mean? Is he an idiot? We already played.” She crumpled the paper and tossed it aside.

“It’s a different form of fun he wants.”

“Well, we already played, and besides; Marie might be searching for me already… Thanks for the help, though!” Rosa then returned the chips to the bunny.

“You are indeed a strange Devil King.” She maintained her cool and composed smile. “I bid you farewell for the night.”

“Eh? What did you call me?” she asked, stopping mid-step.

“Is it not your fitting moniker, Godslayer?”

“That’s what Maria calls me, at least—oh! Are you two friends?! Can we be friends too?” She then shook the rabbitgirl’s hand enthusiastically.

“I don’t know who that is, and nor do I care.” The woman chuckled. “The only one interesting is you, the King.”

“Don’t be mean! Marie is a bit like a granny, but she’s a good person too!” she scolded, holding a hand to her hip and raising a finger on the other.

“But I don’t care about measly humans.”

“Get away from her, would you?”

Now, Rosaria heard Marie’s voice. She found her standing some distance from them, now donning a white dress.

The rabbit girl smiled. “I suppose your friend has come to pick you up.”

“Hmp, not until you two play nice!” She crossed her arms and huffed.

“Miss Rosaria, surely you’ve realized by now that that’s not a normal person, yes?” Marie asked.

“Now, don’t discriminate against her even if she has her quirks.” This time, she scolded Marie. “It’s not like she chose—huh? What did you say? Those ears are just part of the costume, idiot.”

“You’re not a smart King after all, hahahaha!”

A stormy wind took place, originating from the rabbit girl. It instantly blew Rosaria away for she was too close. Marie caught her a moment later, before panic ensued in the casino. People could be seen escaping left and right. They looked up to the deity now afloat, as if standing on an invisible floor. Indeed, to her the wind was as good as floor wherever she willed.

“Who is the idiot now?” Marie looked up to the bunnygirl as she laughed, bringing about the disaster to the venue.

“Gahahaha! I found her, told you I would!” Rosaria dusted herself and stood up proudly as if nothing happened.

“What happened to being nice to her?”

“She blew me away though, so it’s fair now!” She transmuted he bangles back into a sword, grinning excitedly.

Marie sighed. “What an idiot.”

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

“Then what are you waiting for? I’m not going to assist you this time, you have to figure out your Authority.”

“What are you doing here then?” She tilted her head to the side, as if there was nothing happening around her.

“I came to watch you two bleed yourselves to death, of course?”

“Here I come!” Rosa announced as she charged towards the bunny.

As she neared the bunny girl, the wind became more intense and it blew her away, sending her rolling back to where she was. She knelt down and touched the ground, sending a carpet of flame across the floor before making it rise up with the wind underneath the bunny—making a crude imitation of Oinari’s flame tornado. It appeared to have worked quite well until the flames licked the bunny’s skin, immediately dispersing it.

“That didn’t work,” she said rather dryly.

“Didn’t Nona ever teach you that Heretic Gods are generally immune to magic?”

“Really? I really did waste my jewels then!” She stomped her foot, irritated. “Oinari could’ve told me!”

“I suppose all enemies are meant to openly tell you their strengths and weaknesses.”

“Yeah!”

Rosa flourished her blade and walked backwards away from the Goddess. She then sprinted back towards the wall of wind, before jumping up high, using her mana and creating a magic circle under her feet.

“Thou holdeth thyself back?”

The tone of the deity changed from her usual, casual self. Instead, her voice was heard as though it was echoing from every directions. Her tone now sounded more serious—her majestic, mixed with excitement and some form of solemnity.

The wind intensified at the last second before the Leap spell was neutralized. It then stopped, and then resumed. This time, the winds tore apart the entire casino as the walls and floors shattered. Marie sprung into action, ignore Rosaria’s plight and moving to save the innocent civilians. The Goddess’ wind once more halted itself as the sky revealed itself with the lack of a roof.

“ARRRRRGH!” Rosaria bursted out of the debris she was buried under, rather irritated. “I should’ve just kept the money!” she shouted, as she realized she had just returned a God’s cash, when it seemed like a God would have no use for it. She stomped her foot in irritation again when she stood up before speaking again, “And now the place is destroyed! I’m mad, I’m really mad!”

“Mad, thou claim? Fight me in earnest thence, Godslayer—for I am in the jolly mood to play!”

A large, golden rabbit formed from a portal above the bunnygirl, its eyes gleaming scarlet. It flew down straight towards Rosaria, and it was far too big for her to escape, even as she cast the Leap spell—it was impossibly fast.

Blasted away once again, Rosaria took some time before she could stand back up, now feeling more irritated than ever. She saw her sword tossed quite a distance from her, so she could only stand there without a thing she could do now that her magic was pretty much useless in this battle.

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dviUR2eQjU8)

Tails flourished from her butt, chestnut-colored, long and fluffy—a scarlet aura cradled her form and without thought, only her instinct guided her. A hand touched a tail and a sword materialized. It was a Japanese sword, very much like the one Oinari used against her. Indeed, it was double-edged, reflecting brilliantly against the faint lights of afar. Just as the rabbit was about to crash upon her, her body moved on its own, taking a stance and letting the blade slice the air before herself. It was a lightning fast slice. The winds parted and soon she could see a straight line of red on the rabbit—its halves landing on both sides now leaving a shower of gore and blood.

Indeed, it was a clean bifurcating strike. It was not brash with her usual style, and was a well-executed technique.

“Oh? Finally, thou turneth serious,” the rabbit girl commented, slowly coming down to the earth.

“Ufufu,” Rosaria chuckled, feeling an inhuman amount of power coursing through her body. She flicked her blade to her side, as she faced the bunny-clad Goddess. Along with the surge of energy, the eastern blade felt natural to her, as if she instinctively knew how to use it—boosting her confidence even more. However, as she looked towards the Goddess who had now landed, an uncontrollable urge to cut the Goddess into ribbons overwhelmed her. She pointed her blade towards the Goddess and declared, “That’s right! You didn’t even say your name, then you went and destroyed this place! I’ll have you pay for that!”

In truth,. Rosaria felt this rising energy ever since she met the deity, but naturally, she chose to ignore it—until now.

“I am but a Goddess—a tribute or two to me is but expected, such as this casino. Thou hath no right to charge me.”

And then, charge she did, rather haphazardly at that. The Goddess just kicked her back flying to where she was. Rosaria grumbled about Goddesses who only knew how to send people away. Unlike Oinari who was actually a thrill to fight with, it was different with this deity. She stood where she was, frowning towards the Goddess.

The night sky was soon covered by the dark clouds and thunder could be heard. The Goddess rose further upwards.

“Come, Godslayer, let us dance!”

“Why would I do that?!”

She slashed the air trying to hit the Goddess, which also missed. And so there she was, looking like a complete joke while the Goddess toyed around with her—and even Rosaria could see it, narrowing her eyes as she focused on a plan to at least do something. As Nona had taught her, retreat was always an option—knowing when to do so so you could prepare for another day was crucial. But how can I do it right now… I wonder.

“It appeareth thou Authority is untamed—untrained. I am most bored, thou art a King too weak to sate mine lust for battle.”

“Guh… To say it easily like that...” Rosaria held her stomach from her perceived pain, knowing that it would be ungrateful of her to make a rebuttal—she owed her for the game, and from the looks of it, it was true. She knew she’d have to step it up if she was going to rely solely on her swordsmanship—something that she hadn’t really practiced when she learned she could use flame magic.

“Master thy Authority and then—we shall meet again in a conflict anew! Oh, and the ears were real. Fare thee well.”

The bunnygirl soon flied up to the sky and dipped into the clouds, thereby vanishing from sight. The thunders stopped immediately. Indeed, she was the storm that had passed at last.

“Argh, I should’ve touched them first! What a folly!” And so, she completely destroyed the floor under her sole. With her enemy gone, the surge of power she was feeling, along with the tails and the sword, disappeared with a poof as she fell on her butt to the floor. “Although… what an interesting girl, that bunny! I hope I meet her again.”

Seeing the scarlet aura cease from Rosaria, Marie came up to her. “She is just a danger to humanity rather than a form of interest, if you ask me. Anyway, are you alright?”

“Yeah, but, she helped me play here too! She can’t be all that bad… Although did you see how easy it was for her to beat me?” Rosaria turned to Marie and took her hand. “It was AWESOME!”

“Eh? She completely demolished this venue and almost got people killed.” Marie frowned. “And here you are proud of her labeling you as a loser.”

“I don’t mind, cause she was strong!” She grinned at Marie, raising her thumb towards her.

“Do you have no shred of decency to consider the people for a second?” Marie sighed and shook her head. “Shall we leave?”

“You said you’d take care of them, though…” Rosaria scratched her head and then followed the blonde.

“I alone am not able to rescue all those people… I suppose there has to be some collateral damage regardless of where you fight, and this was a good casino too.”

“Yeah it was, even if I lost the whole time… Oh well, let’s go!” She hit the blonde on the back as she started walking as if nothing happened.

“We are going thank you, no need to prod me, Little King.”

“Man, I’m hungry!” she shouted, picking up her sword along the way, returning it to its bangle form. “I wonder what we’re going to have for supper… I want to eat meat!”

“I should be able to order some in the hotel. What kind of meat do you prefer?”

“Lamb! Beef!? Lamb! Ahaha!” She spun on her heel then started making mock slashes in the air. Next time, Bunny… I’ll kick your butt then!

“Greedy for the lamb, I see.”

Later that night, the pair traveled to the hotel while the sirens of the firefighters and the police cars rushed to the scene of the destroyed casino.

“You are already leaving your mark as a King across Italy it appears—with the disasters,” Marie commented nonchalantly as they walked on the streets.

Most of the stores were closed and the streets were dimly-lit now that it was late. The knight led the King as she walked before her, guiding her to the hotel.

“Ah! So that’s why she didn’t want to exchange clothes—her ears were real!” Rosaria suddenly blurted out.

“So, how did it feel to use your Authority?”

“It felt really nice! It’s like I ate a whole lamb, then Nona’s cooking it, then I get to use magic afterwards! That sword was awesome too! I wonder what it was, though.” She made a few practice swings in the air, imitating what she did that one moment when she had cut the air and hit Bunny.

“It was a Japanese sword, the one Oinari was using. A sword of a samurai, basically.”

“Does this mean I am a samurai too? Oh! Could you teach me how to use one?” She grinned earnestly at the knight.

“I do not know how to fight like a samurai, but it seemed like you knew, though? Did Nona teach you?”

“Did I? I just followed… my instincts. I guess?”

She put a finger to her chin, wondering how she had wielded the blade in the first place. As far as she could remember, she had not encountered the eastern weapon up until she fought Oinari. Perhaps the knowledge came with the sword, seeing that she was only able to wield it when she held the blade; in that case, she figured she might as well call it her own skill at this point.

“Perhaps the Authority teaches you how to wield it, then. You seemed to be guided by a Divine instinct. Seeing as you touched one of the tails to summon the sword, it may be appropriate to say the other tails holds other facets of the Authority.”

“Hmmm… I wonder if they’d be as fluffy as Oinari’s too. But if what you said is true… then I get eight more swords?! That’s cool!” She wiggled her backside from side to side, as if trying to move non-existent tails—at least for the moment.

“Maybe swords, maybe something else. Either way, you need to make sure you know how to use them first before facing that Goddess again.”

“I know, I know… Where could I practice, though? Oh! Can I do it on the beachside?!” She pointed towards the general direction of the beach.

“You can’t really be doing that in public. I have a private beach though, but that’s in France, too bad.”

“Are you some sort of a princess?”

“Yes?”

“Whoa, do you have a castle too? But wait—you’re a knight! You can’t be both!” Rosaria rubbed her chin as she imagined Marie standing grumpily on top of some tower, waiting for a prince to bring her food since she couldn’t cook. It was enough to suddenly make her burst out laughing as she imagined that the blonde would then criticize the food for being too cold.

“Well, well, it appears someone is lacking a great amount of detail of the Magic World. I descend from the line of Knights Templar and the House of Bourbon that were the Royalty of French in the past until the French Revolution. We still hold much political sway in France but only on the magical side of things. Being a knight is simply a tradition now, for it is a virtue to be well-versed in magic and techniques of war.”

“So you don’t have a castle, boring!” she said in a sing-song voice. “Where are we staying?”

“Why would I need something old-fashioned when I have large mansions? Silly child. Anyway, we’re staying in a hotel, of course.”

“Yeah, but castles are cooler! Everyone can buy mansions,” she said with a huff.

“No peasant can. Besides, the age of castles has long but expired. I would get one if they were not too old.”

“Hmp, that’s what you say. Anyway! Do you have any idea who Bunny is?” She held her hands on her head as if mimicking bunny ears. “Is she the Easter Bunny, perhaps?”

“That, or the moon rabbit of Japanese and Chinese folklore.”

“Moon Rabbit? What’s that?”

“Originally a saying that started due to the Japanese finding the moon’s markings similar to that of a rabbit. There is also mythology of the rabbit among the Chinese, and in their Zodiac calendar the Rabbit exists, even representing a month.”

“Eh… that’s all?” The girl pouted.

“I could go on about other lore but it would take days upon days, so feel free to study in your free time.”

“Gah, I guess I will!” Rosa didn’t like to stay at one place just to read, but maybe she could do so while roaming around. If it’s for bunny…

“Good luck, let us hope there is a library nearby at all that is sanctioned by a Magic Association, otherwise all you would find is mundane knowledge.”

“Gah. I thought you had the books! What do you get from raising my hopes like that?!”

“Mirth and pleasure. Well, I do have the books but I hold no establishment in Siena.”

“Can’t you just have them delivered here, Princess?”

“That would be a waste, we are going to Rome soon anyway.”

“Ooooh! I want to see that big arena thingy they have!” Rosaria’s eyes sparkled, completely forgetting about the books.

“The Roman Colosseum? Very well, I shall give you a tour, King.”

“What a dumb name,” she remarked.

“Better than yours in a way.”

“That’s not true! You take that back!” She then slapped the knight in her butt.

Marie slapped Rosaria squarely in her face nearly the same time. “Learn to understand a joke, you childish King.”

“Ow...” She rubbed her cheeks and blew a raspberry to the knight. “That hurt!”

“You deserved it.”

“You’re just a meanie,” she responded. “You keep doing that and those wrinkles will really be plastered on your face!”

“I am not the one making those wrinkles as you do every time you are bored, though.” Marie made a mirthful smile.

“That’s right, that’s why! I will not be bored, when this world’s this interesting! Ahaha!”

“Uh-huh.”

With the burning solar sphere in the sky illuminating the world, a certain lady crossed the cobblestone roads of the Town of Fine Towers in the province of Siena. The Romanesque and Gothic architectures surrounded her, and so did the residents of the bustling town, each going about their own lives in yet another ordinary day.

Tired, hungry and angry, the lady approached the village of San Gimignano—the last place she felt she could call home. Having lost both her parents and not being able to trust her other family members she wasn’t sure what she could do anymore. She didn’t have patience or the will to work any regular job she managed to get as she felt they got boring rather quick. Being spoiled all her life by her parents, she couldn’t do much on her own. Everything she owned was now gone, taken away or sold as she tried to survive as long as she could on her own.

“They should all just burn in hell,” she murmured to herself as she continued walking, carrying a backpack with her that only had a couple sets of clothes she had managed to keep. Her trip here was also not easy as she had to sell the final reminder she had of her parents just to pay for the trip. She hoped she could somehow start her life anew.

(GM’s Comment: I might as well stare at the edge of a blade when reading her lines. Hohoho. Off to a great start we are, indeed!)

After some time, she finally reached her destination. It had been over six years since she last came here. The house was made out of stone as it had been built during the medieval ages. She used to come here every summer when her grandparents were still alive. She herself didn’t enjoy coming all the way out here, but she didn’t mind them much as her grandparents always had gifts for her waiting. When her grandparents died she had stopped coming here as she saw no further point to do so, but luckily for her, it was the only place left for her thanks to her grandparents who had left the place to her and not her parents.

Having no one come to the house in over six years the place, it had grew incredibly dusty and spider webs could be seen all over. She was disgusted at first, but in the end, she had to deal with it as she had no other place to call home anymore. Moving stuff around, she wondered what she could find as she was low on funds, and hoped there would be something she could sell. She’d sell the home if she could but the one problem she faced was that her grandparents had made it so she could not sell it or else she’d lose the right to it.

Why did they have to add the stupid clause into the will…

Hours had passed and she managed to search the whole house. It seemed most of the furniture was worn out and not much of value was left behind. She was disappointed at this fact as she now had to find a job to work at. Walking around the master bedroom, she then recalled there being an attic in the house and wondered if there was anything hidden there. She knew her grandparents were known to keep old items around, but it seemed that after they had passed away, her greedy relatives had come by and taken all things of value that hadn’t been bolted down to the ground. All she could do was hope there was something there.

Finding the entrance she went to the attic, yet again feeling disgusted, but she knew she had to deal with it, as at this point in her life she had no other choice anymore. Looking around there was not much around either. All she managed to find was an old music box that seemed to work still. Being the only thing she found she decided to take it and hoped it would be worth something, at least enough for her to come up with something.

Being exhausted from all her searching, she decided to take a break as she wasn’t sure what else she could do or where she could go next. It seemed her plans of finding anything of worth were now a little too late as she was not sure where all the possessions could have been taken away. All she could do now was just sit and rest for a bit.

From the couch of the living room, she could see the sunlight wane before her very eyes, a little slower than ordinary. Curiously, she walked up to the window. Amidst the cloudy sky was a black sun, instead of the usual bright sun. She took a step back from surprise.

An eclipse? Was one supposed to happen today? I would have imagined there would have been people talking about it…

The floors quaked, some dust and rocks cracked from the interior of the house. She stared for some moments.

One.

Two.

Three.

Seconds passed.

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtxc1WjRP-M)

With a loud thump, something black was placed just before the window and it immediately shattered from the impact. Her back against the floor now, the lady soon pulled herself up.

“What the fuck was that!? That couldn’t be real, right?” she said out loud to herself, still shocked. “I must be dreaming right? It’s been a long day so I must be asleep right now,” she said as she pinched herself, feeling the pain.

The black lump of weight was lifted and it disappeared from sight. Moments later, it crashed yet again, causing the next quake that passed through the floors.

“So it’s not a dream… what in the world is happening then!?” she said, feeling panicked but decided to head out as whatever it was it seemed it could easily crush the house. She grabbed her bag and put the music box she found inside as she was not sure what to expect once outside.

A large figure loomed in her field of sight, making the lady forget to close her door as she stared with mouth agape. It was as tall as fifty meters, or even longer, she could not tell fully, but it was unnatural, certainly. The back of this figure was draped with long, silky black hair. With the sky now painted gray it somehow felt cold as the temperature dropped significantly.

“You gotta be kidding me, right? How is this not a dream, such a thing shouldn’t exist…” she said, rubbing her eyes, not knowing what to think anymore. Was her mind playing a trick on her? Had the stress of everything finally gotten to her? She wasn’t sure she could make out the situation any longer. Not that she could to begin with.

Panicking, people ran across the streets from witnessing this colossal figure taking a leisurely walk abruptly. The quakes continued with each steps and she could see some stumble across their paths thanks to it. Thunder was heard and clouds gathered more and more with each passing second. A chill ran down the spine of the lone viewer.

“You have to be fucking kidding me, right?!! I come here expecting to start anew and you mean to tell me a giant monster just decides to show up today and is taking away my hope? I’ve had it, screw everything! I don’t care what happens anymore!” she said furiously.

She could no longer hold her anger in. Picking up the biggest stone she could easily carry she began to hurry behind the giant figure. To her everything was ruined now. If this creature was just gonna continue destroying the place there was no point of her to continue as she now would lose everything completely. Upon getting closer she threw the rock not caring if it felt it or not as she then tried to throw anything she could at it.

The rock soared, but it was not enough, for it drew a parabola and fell to the ground just before it could strike the ominously large figure as it took a step. A moment passed but the lady was not looking at her stone with disappointment, nor was she picking up another. She found the tall person turn to the left to reveal the face of a girl. It was now she realized—it was an oversized girl. She followed the gaze of this person, and found another. A tiny figure whose blonde locks were caressed by the winds. She was more grown and voluptuous unlike the large figure. This person was floating in the air with nothing under her feet.

“Now flying people, at this point if I told anyone this they would call me crazy,” she told to herself, even more confused now. She could only wonder what else could pop up.

“Finally. Finally, thou layeth bare before me!” the large girl exclaimed, a look of manic excitement contorted her otherwise beautiful facial features.

“Forsooth, expected I had for ye pranks to sail far,” the blonde lady in the air spoke. “Yet expected I had not for our battlefield to be amidst the den of humankind.”

“Humankind? I care not!” A tremor was felt from this exclamation. “O Golden Rabbit, come—fight we must—settle we must our feud, let this stage of yore become our field of conflict.”

“What the heck is she saying? Sounds like English but none I’ve heard before from foreigners,” the lady said, still standing close. Part of her felt fear yet part of her wanted to stay as she felt like she had nothing to lose.

“Very well. O Strife of war, entertain me,” the blonde said with a mirthful smirk.

“Thou speaketh mine line!”

Thus, the giant fought with the smaller blonde being.

She who was referred to as Strife threw her fist savagely, the strong and sharp gales dancing a dance of destruction in tune, wreaking havoc in the historically-rich town.

She who was referred to as the Golden Rabbit flew like a swallow, agile and nimble—she evaded the paws of the War Goddess with ease and elegance.

This continued for some moments.

The Strife pursued, her steps were particularly fierce, giving rise to smoke and debris as her feet tore through the cobblestone streets, and soon some of the towers and buildings.

She threw fists like that of a rabid beast, rather than a boxer or a martial artist. Throwing a straight fist, the Goddess delivered the force of air at the Gold Rabbit, who got out of the way nimbly. She attempted now horizontally and again, she failed. Even the great waves generated from her movements were unable to touch the deity of gold.

“Tch, thou art a rat rather than a rabbit!”

“Oh dear, I wouldst prefer to be compared to a regal eagle instead.”

As the Gods grumbled, the giantess soon struck against a structure nearby, almost. Indeed, one of the towers overhead cracked from age and pressure and was toppled.

The mortal lady looked up. It was coming right down upon her.

“It's seriously not my day, is it…?” she said, her body not responding as she saw the tower falling her way. She now began to wonder why she stayed. She was no fighter and even if she was, what could she hope to do against such a monster? It was several times her height yet she chased after it. Just what was she thinking?

It all happened as a blur.

The conundrum of war ringed afar as the Goddesses fought and here she was, dying. Yet then she wondered, how was she alive? The noise of the tower crashing against the street was loud and resounding. She found herself atop the arms of a blue-eyed stranger, with straight blonde hair. He set her down immediately as she came to a sense of self.

“It is not safe here,” the gentleman claimed. “Please retreat to a safer location, Miss.”

She was confused. How had she been rescued in time? From what she knew it should have been impossible to save her. It wasn’t like she could complain much. She was still alive after all. “Thank you, but I don’t think that is even possible at this point anymore. What could even be called a safe location around here from that monster?”

“As far away as possible… that is all I may state. I understand that they are large but please seek shelter. I shall depart and request them to cease this conflict.”

“Not like it matters if I get away at this point. I doubt I could even run away fast enough. That monster already took away all that I had left. It has to pay for what it’s done!”

“You are a willful one, but what may you do?”

“I’ll figure out something, I don’t care what! This was supposed to be my start of a new life and it's been ruined on my first day here.”

“To throw away a life simply out of anger is as foolish as the beings now causing this disaster. Are you sure you wish to tread upon such a path?”

“My life at this point has no meaning. I’ve already lost almost everything. That monster coming here and causing this distraction was the last straw. I don’t care what happens anymore.”

This woman is unreasonable. The man before her sighed. “Very well, but it would stain my honor as a knight if I let a lady run into danger haphazardly. May I be your escort?”

“Knight? Don’t you think this is the wrong period for that?” she said as part of her couldn’t help but chuckle. “But very well. It seems you know what is going on here for some reason.”

“Well, excuse me for—” A resounding noise of structures perishing was heard. They could see the large black figure of a woman was standing atop a tower that miraculously supported her height. She twisted and turned, clawing the air as the smaller blonde woman dabbled in the sky with grace and poise. “It appears we lack the time for chitchat.” The knight took up the lady before him in his arms and what appeared to be a circle—full of strange alphabets—flourished before he leapt. Instantly, they ascended beyond the many constructs as he continued this process to approach the giant.

This wouldn't be so bad if not for all this weird stuff. Though it seems he’s part of this weirdness as well, just what in the world did he do? she thought. Looking around she wondered if she had died already somewhere and didn’t recalled. “How is it possible that you can fly? Am I dead and stuck somewhere between heaven and hell?”

The man laughed. “I’d hope not! This is but a trick.”

“Trick? You're not gonna tell me those two fighting is all an act now, are you? Even I know something that big is too big to be a machine.”

“They are… a different story. They are undeniably inhuman, yes.”

“Well that was obvious, Sherlock. Care to tell what they really are, Mister Knight?” she said as she stared him in the eyes.

The knight, however, only looked forward. Instead, he smiled.

“I believe that is the improper method to ask, my Lady.”

“Fine then. Can you please tell me what they are? You mentioned you would talk to them earlier so you either know who they are or met others like them.”

“They are Heretic Gods. It is not as though I wish to play a mystery game with you. There are things I’m not allowed to speak of in detail—for instance, how I’m carrying ourselves over such great distances like this.”


“Yeah about that, I'm not sure how you are doing it but you better not let go,” she said as she embraced the knight a bit tighter. She hadn't looked down yet, but now that she did she was not happy with how high they were. “Heretic Gods? I've heard of regular Gods but never of Gods that are Heretics.”

“It is but a title for those Gods that manifest into this realm. They bring about disasters, calamities, and other dangers to humanity, which are often covered up as natural hazards.”

“How can something like that be covered up as a natural disaster? That in no way looks like a natural disaster I've heard of.” She pointed at the giant as part of her couldn't believe it was truly a God as well. “If those are Gods then which ones are they then?”

“That, I do not know. Ah, but they’re only natural disasters in news and media, of course, locals could say otherwise. Even if one sees things they shouldn’t—it would fall upon certain organizations to cover things up…”

“You're being really vague you know. It sounds like you're part of those groups conspiracy theorists talk about that control everything behind the scenes,” she said, looking at the knight annoyed.

“Ahaha, that may well be true.”

“Now you make me wonder if I'm truly safe being with you. How do I know you're not going to try something shady once this is over?”

“To be fair, if that were to happen—the fault would lie with you, for you wished to be involved with the situation.”

“I guess. Then I'll see what I can do. How about becoming mine then if I can beat that thing?” she said, chuckling.

“Huh?” The knight blinked. “Surely you jest, my Lady.”

“In beating that thing, maybe a little. I'm not sure why even though some stupid part of me just wants to knock her out. She ruined my return to this village with her earthquakes.”

“You are talking about beating a Goddess, right? How would you even do that?”

“I'm not sure but they do say the bigger they are the harder they fall. Nothing can be unbeatable right?”

“I will say that you have quite the courage, for one.”

The knight soon stopped before the lady in his arms could speak once more. The giant was now before them, as he made sure to stand on a tower in front of her. The girl thus stopped battling the other Goddess, and looked down on them.

“O Goddess, please cease this needless conflict lest all the creatures in vicinity fall prey to it,” the knight stated aloud, facing the Goddesses.

“Young child, thou wouldst ask me, Discordia to stand down from battle? Nonsense! Once a battle is underway, none may quench mine thirst save for blood and corpses!”

“Please understand that none other than yourself wish to be embroiled in this disaster. O Goddess, please reconsider!”

“Hush, thou art speaketh overmuch!” The Goddess pulled an arm up to the sky and lightning crackled furiously, raining down at them.

“Tch!” The knight leapt, a magic circle blossoming under his feet as he did so. The previous location they stood in was burnt and broken by the streak of lightning.

“Ahaha, she could even use lighting… She really is a goddess. I have to wonder now what I’ve got myself into. Here I thought this was all a dream still yet that blow felt like it would have woken a person up even from a really deep sleep.”

“Enough to make one go back to sleep, in fact.”

The knight jumped from tower to tower as the lightning fell one after another in pursuit of them. Suddenly, it stopped, and he looked up. Discordia let out a bloodcurdling scream momentarily, and they found a large gash upon her chest.

“To ignore me is thy greatest misdeed,” the Golden Rabbit stated, holding a gold spear. Its glorious luster filled the sky.

“Tch, I shall show th—”

The Goddess coughed blood which splattered upon the old towers as she took another blow from the spear. As Discordia attempted to attack, the Gold Rabbit flew up to the clouds and disappeared. Wings spawned forth from the back of the dark Goddess and she too—took to the heavens above, her wings generating immense wind and pressure that the knight was blown away, forcing him down to the streets below.

It didn’t even take a minute when the sun abruptly returned and the skies cleared, as if nothing had happened before. Yet the broken structures and the sound of panic was there to remind them of the calamity that had just barely passed.

“Seriously just like that!? How could someone that big fly…”

“I do not know… but it appears that we are safe, for now.”

“Now what? Chase after them? Unless they're completely gone now. I still can't believe something like that just happened though. Nobody’s gonna believe me about what I saw… Wish I still had my cell.”

“They’re… likely not completely gone. I don’t think we should chase them, but it’d be foolish to leave them to their devices and allow them to rampage again.”

“Then what do you suggest we do? I'm new to this so I'm not really sure. You wouldn't have like a secret weapon to fight them, no? Unless all you try to do is talk to them and see if that works because just that is rather boring.”

“I have some ways to fight them, but they’re ineffective for all I know. They are Heretic Gods, after all. Do you have a place to live in here somewhere?”

“Yes though it's kind of a mess considering I had only just returned today after six years. If you don't mind dust we could go back to the town or whatever is left of it.”

“We’re still in the town. If you can give me directions I could take us there right now.”

“Well just head back to where you saved me at and it's a bit further up. I think my house should be okay.”

Thus, with the lady in his arms still, the knight leapt upwards with a magic circle flashing under his feet. They crossed a great distance in a small time.

“Let’s hope a tower didn’t fall upon it or something.”

“At this point I would not be surprised if one did with how things have gone,” she said as she sighed.

“That’d indeed be a tragedy. My home is much further away for us to retreat to for now.”

“How far? If you are here it can't be that further away, right?”

“I come from Venice. I was only dispatched to investigate the situation here.”

“I’d rather not take another three hour trip so my house should work if it's still there.”

“Exactly my point.” The knight looked down at the street, the imprints of the footsteps of Discordia still remained in the streets. “This should be the right trace, do you think it’s around here?”

“Just follow them. My house should be right behind the first footstep. Don't think she stepped on my house but she did shatter some windows.”

“The first step…” The knight pressed onwards. After a few more leaps, he stopped at the final footprint he could see. “I believe this should be it?”

“Yes. Seems for some miracle it's still standing. I'm surprised that tower missed it… Considering how things have been I would have imagined it would have hit the house,” she said as she couldn't help but to stare at the rubble of the fallen tower.

“Hm. You have the face of a person tortured by fate.”

“Seems fate decided I had too many nice things and turned my world upside down this past year. This old house is all that I have left. The fact that it's still stands it's a miracle in itself.”

“I… see. Shall we go inside?”

“Let us but don't expect hospitality. I never got the chance to get stuff.”

“Ahaha… if you say so.”

They entered the house. The cobwebs and the dusty floor—now littered with a myriad of broken glass shards—greeted them.

“Well, quite the sight I see,” the knight commented. “The structure looks as though it might crumble any day now, from looking at those cracks on the walls and ceiling…”

“Those weren't there earlier. Considering she did step right out front, that earthquake was probably almost too much for this old house. It has been around since the medieval ages, you know. Well basically almost all the houses here have been,” she said as she went and got the broom that was left in a corner and began to sweep some of the shards away with much disgust as she couldn't believe she had to sweep.

Not like I didn’t know. The knight took the broom from her hand. “Allow me. You should rest.”

“Be my guest then,” she said as she headed towards the couch and removed the sheet that covered it. “At least I'm grateful they left some of the furniture around, those damn bastards.”

“And who’d †˜they’ be?” the man questioned as he started to clean the mess on the floor.

“My uncles and aunts. When my grandparents died they came here and took almost everything worth money and since it wasn't enough they tricked my mother as well during her depression.”

“So basically, they took all the wealth your family possibly possessed?”

“Pretty much. Worst of all they made sure to cover their tracks so even if I know what they did, legally they could have done it. They just had to be fucking lawyers,” she said as she slammed her fist against the cushion of the sofa.

“What truly sucks is that this building will probably last a month or so, though. Best look for a new place to live in.”

The lady couldn't help but laugh upon hearing the knight’s statement. She soon found herself crying after a while. “J-just great this was the last placed I had to start a new life and now you're telling me I'm gonna have nothing left… I'm gonna kill that stupid Goddess!”

The knight produced a handkerchief from his breast pocket and handed it to the lady, sweeping the mess on the floor to the corner for now.

“Thank you,” she said, accepting the handkerchief, wiping her face. “If there is a way to kill that Goddess, tell me!”

“Generally, defeating the Gods are but a task of near-impossibility. However… there have been people in the past that had done it before, who are known as the Godslayers. Regardless, it requires sheer luck to achieve such a thing.”

“At this point I don't care how much luck one needs if there is a shot at it I'll take it! I got nothing to lose at this point,” she said as she then opened her bag and took out the music box she found earlier. “I suppose I'll be leaving this here in the end. No point selling it now.”

The knight sat down on a couch opposite to her. “Unfortunately, there is only one power I have that may strike the Goddess but even then, for someone so large it may not do much. There is something else that I possess for the moment, something I retrieved from a ruin but… well, it is another complicated matter.”

“What does that have to do with the Goddess? Is it an item that can kill her? Don't you think at this point you should stop being so vague also? At this point I think I've seen enough for you to stop that.”

“I could just remove your memories and change all of that.” The knight made a big smile.

“So basically you're gonna make me forget everything and let me die a month from now since I wouldn't know the house will collapse? I'm pretty sure I wouldn't leave the place considering I have no where else to go.”

“Don’t worry. I was only joking. Though, if my organization insists I might have to—after this mess is wrapped up.”

The lady stood up and then walked over to where the knight was and sat next to him placing her hand on his thigh and then stared at him with a smile. “Don't you think you could ignore the fact I know? I could help you out defeat the Goddess. You did mention you found something. We could try it if you know how it works.”

“I am beyond temptation, my Lady.” The knight removed her hand from his thigh, though his cheeks were just a little red. “Besides, would you sell yourself short just to forget a misery?”

“I already told you I got nothing left. Do you think a month is enough for me to turn my life around? I got barely any money left, the only place I had left to call home will disappear in a month and I don't have the money to fix it,” she said as she looked down, clenching her fist. “You might have a way to beat that stupid Goddess yet you won't say. I wasn't gonna sell myself that short. At this point in my life with how things have been going I should have done that already. I am confident I have a body any man would desire.”

“I simply do not want an average lady to fight something impossible.” The knight sighed. He took up his hand. With a small flash of light a small medal-like object formed. He handed it to her. “See? Nothing happens, right? It’s useless in the hands of us humans.”

“What is this supposed to be anyway?” she said, examining the small medal-like object. “Would something this small do anything if it worked?”

On the medal, she found something like the symbol of a woman, but it was too old and murky to perceive when it was dark inside the house. She got a very strange feeling as she stared into it.

“It is a Divine Relic. A very powerful object.”

“This little thing is a Divine object? That sounds kinda farfetched. Though do all Divine Relics make you feel strange when you look at them?”

The object started to glow, and the eye-color of the holder changed. A picturesque vision was seen—various statues were lined, and beside them was the particular sculpture of a woman that caught her eye, for it was similar to the carving on the stone medal.

“She who rallies for the hunts, the bearer of the countless hills…” the lady spoke words she thought she’d never speak. Her eyes reverted to their original state and the vision ended abruptly.

“What… what did you just see?!” the knight exclaimed in surprise. “Was that a Spirit Vision?”

“Huh? What Spirit Vision? Wasn't I just seeing something?” she said, confused as to what just happened as she had never experienced something like it before.

“It’s an ability of the Mikos. A rare talent. To think you had such a thing…”

“Mikos? Isn't that a Japan thing? I've never been there before so there's no way I'm a Miko.”

“Miko are those born with rare… magical talents. They’re not all necessarily Japanese, the term happened to originate there.”

“I see. Wait, you said magical talent. Does this mean what you did earlier was magic?”

That wasn’t obvious? The man shrugged. “I suppose if you are in a way related to this side of the world, I find no reason to hide it. Yes, I am a mage, a disciple of Hermes.”

“Okay… then does that mean I could do other stuff or just see things like what I just saw? Wait, you serve a God?”

“Well, you may have other hidden talents. You’d need training to know and learn. And no, I do not serve a God, Hermetic Magic is what the mages practice now.”

“I believe I’m gonna need a more proper teaching about this… This seems really confusing when it's all being thrown at you at once,” she said, now wondering what more crazy stuff would happen.

“Well, we mages are taught from a very young age, so by this point it’s common sense to us, I can see how it may be different for you, though. Heretic Gods are the responsibility of the Kings, but I suppose they’re currently not close-by.”

“Kings? There are no Kings in this country though. Unless your talking about someone from England.”

“Oh no, there are Kings in the Magic World. Kings among Kings, they say. They are the only ones that are able to defeat the Heretic Gods.”

“I see. To think there are such people underground. So are they all men? Considering you said they are Kings.”

“Not quite. I have met one and she was… the perfect lady. They are given various titles, Devil King and whatnot—but they are known as the Campiones, for they are the Godslayers.”

“Oh, but to be known as a King, I wouldn’t like that. I would prefer to be treated like a Queen than a King since of course I was my parents’ Princess,” she said proudly.

“Well too bad, the only True Queen is the Campione I was speaking of. It is apparently the first time they referred to a Campione as a Queen… even then they use King and Queen interchangeably for her, which is kinda messed up now that I think about it.”

“Really now? Fine! Let us go find that stupid Goddess and I’ll show you who's the Queen!” she said, for some reason feeling motivated by what the knight said.

The knight sighed. “And you have a plan, my reckless Lady?”

“Well you said this was a Divine Relic, no?” she said as she looked at the medal. “What I saw might be a clue to kill that Goddess.”

“What did you see, exactly?”

“There was a bunch of statues and the statue that stood of course was the one on this medal. But I have no clue what it means. I believe you heard what I said as well, no?”

“I have heard, but it’s not much of a clue for me. Do you know whose statue you may have seen?”

“Well I don’t know. My knowledge about Gods and Goddess isn’t that great. You seriously don’t know which Goddess is this on the medal though?”

“It wouldn’t be so much trouble if we did know. This Divine Relic is dangerous, and we’ve been looking to hand it over to a responsible individual.” The knight shook his head. “It really is my bad luck that I’m the one having to deliver it to my organization’s headquarters.”

“I wonder at this point what is more dangerous, this relic that is useless to us because we don’t know which Goddess is on it? Or that giant Goddess who can return at any moment.”

“There is no Goddess inside this, but quite a lot of magic is sealed. This is an ancient grimoire, to be specific. It has its own dangers. For now, though, I’d say Discordia is far more dangerous.”

“Well, what are we supposed to do then? Just sit here and wait for her to come back and attack with us unavailable to do anything? There has to be away to activate this, we just need to hit her.”

Obvious questions… no, she is right. “Hm… it responded to you so far, which is the first time I saw it. We may just have a chance.”

“Well are you saying we should just wait for her to appear and I try to see if it activates and try and hit her?”

“We could just do that. I don’t know where to search for her either. Though I do understand the want to take action… yet I’m not sure. They’re deities that are able to move fast so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they’re much farther from town now.”

“Then I’ll just go see if they are still nearby. Beats just sitting here especially if this can do something.”

The knight got up from the couch. “I suppose someone is restless when I thought they were tired.”

“I am tired, but at this point it’s hard to settle down after seeing two Goddesses fight near your home.”

“I’d say rest. That Spirit Vision should’ve taken some stamina, since you never had training with building up mana.”

“Fine but in one hour we’ll head out.”

He shrugged. “Restless indeed.”

The lady fell asleep in one of the rooms. She was still exhausted and with what the knight said she did feel extra tired after the vision. She ended sleeping longer than she thought and noticed that the man was gone once she looked around. Mad, she quickly rushed out of the house to find him.

“Where could he have gone?” she said as she looked around to see where she might head to.

She found the clouds and the black sun once more. The air was devoid of heat as the temperature dropped rapidly once more. However, she couldn’t see the giantess this time.

She continued to look around not believing the sky could be like this again, yet the woman was nowhere near in sight. “Did she shrink or something? Turned invisible? Great, how am I supposed to find her?!”

Running east she decided to test her luck since at this point she had no other place to go and she wasn’t sure what else to pick. After a few minutes she came across a tower in which people were heading into for shelter. She was beginning to think she took a wrong turn, wondering why they were hiding there. Then suddenly—she heard a loud bang. Looking around, she noticed a tower further east had collapsed. She began running toward it immediately.

She wasn’t sure why at this point, she could have just let it be but something within her was telling her to go.

She found the tower blocking the road after some moments of running. Taking an alleyway to the right, she braved through a network of pathways in which she found few poor folks hiding. They stared at her eerily as she passed, never having seen someone as beautiful as her before.

After she exited the alley, she found herself coming onto the same road again, but now beyond the fallen tower. She thus continued farther eastwards and soon stopped. She found a cathedral before her. This large cathedral—along with the floor—shook slightly every few seconds as noises of impacts were barely heard.

Are they even further down? Or inside this place? she thought as she could still not see the giant woman anywhere. Is that even possible? She was a giant unless she can shrink… She decided to check inside in case though she was doubtful.

The doors were open and she ran inside without any hesitation. The amount of ruined statues of angels she found immediately caused her to stop. There was broken marble littered all across the floor.

“What is this, could they actually have fought in here? I can’t imagine her shrinking down…” she said as she continued to try and go further into the cathedral to see what else she could find.

There was a loud noise and the cathedral shook once more, now with much more force. The lady almost fell over. One of the pillars behind her crashed against the pristine floor soon and she sighed, thinking it was falling upon her for a moment, much like the tower from earlier today. She continued forwards, soon entering a hall where rows of seats were placed. There, she found an altar. She stopped in awe at the majesty of the sight and that was when the wall behind it cracked and broke open. From there came the knight who literally fell on top of the visiting lady with his back on her front.

“Well look who it is. Thanks for waking me up back then,” she said sarcastically. “What’s going on now? Why are you inside here?”

“You’re welcome.” The knight pulled himself up from Beatrix’ body, offering her a hand.

“Thanks,” she said as she accepted his hand. “Well did she shrink or something? Or did another one show up?”

The same black child flew out from the opening in the broken wall and stood atop the altar with a smirk.

“She shrunk… which is probably good for us.” The knight looked up to the figure of the Goddess and fortified with his sword placed forward. He handed to the lady the Divine medallion. “See if you can get some sort of a hint again—we’ll need all the help we can get.”

“Oh? Thou wouldst challenge me as well?” Discordia said, her voice echoing across the halls unnaturally.

“Of course I would you old hag. You're gonna pay for ruining my new life,” the lady said as she accepted the Divine medallion from the knight and faced Discordia.

“Did thy parents not teach thee to respect a Goddess?”

“Of course, towards those who protect us. You on the other hand ruined my home, granny!”

“So? That is but the irrational way of the world thou liveth in. Human, thou hath forgotten thy Gods, and so thou deserve punishment!”

“Maybe you should have done a better job at not being forgotten. That’s your own fault.”

“Hmph, how impertinent!”

Discordia raised her palm and a powerful wind blew, blowing the lady away. The knight stood his ground and extended his hand—just barely grabbing her hand and preventing her from being slammed against the pillar behind her. As soon as the wind stopped, he released her and she found herself falling on the floor. The man sprang into action action immediately. He swung his sword with practiced perfection, each of every movement performed in such speed that the only witness of them could only just barely follow them with her naked eyes. Discordia, of course, moved impossibly fast—enough that it was downright impossible to see her move at all, evading with ease.

“Moving that fast needs to be illegal…” the lady said, still finding it hard to believe movements like those were possible.

She took a glance at the medallion as she wasn’t sure what else to do. She could only pray some sort of hint would come. To her surprise the medallion was glowing a green color. She was not sure what to make of it though. Was it gonna be another vision or did it mean something else?

“Arghhhhh!!”

The knight cried, and she found Discordia stabbing him with her very fist—with her razor-sharp claws digging into him. Blood splattered on the floor and he pushed himself back, forcing the bloody fist of the Goddess out of his breast. He held his wound but kept his sword up straight on guard with an expression distorted by pain.

“Hear the sorrow of David, people! Alas, may the heroes fall! Alas, may the weapons of war be destroyed! O’ mountains of Gilboa, I pray that dew and rain will not fall upon your peaks! I pray that your land grows infertile, unable to flourish! There, the shield of the hero was cast away! The shield of Saul, unpolished with oil, was cast away over yonder!” the knight chanted, a blue aura was now coating his form.

“Oh? Spell words? Interesting!” Discordia exclaimed in excitement, her expression manic.

“Undrinking blood of murderers, the unretreating bow of Jonathan! Unconsuming all of the brave souls, returning the sword of Saul in vain! Alas the heroes, fallen in midst of battle! O’ bow of Jonathan. With eagle’s swiftness and and lion’s strength, a hero’s weapon.” The sword the knight held transformed into a bow. He held it up and upon his palm an arrow formed, the end of which he grasped as he nocked. “Go forth in assault, upon my fleeing enemies!”

The arrows were released, and again, the Goddess dodged, but as she stopped, she looked down at herself, finding a small cut on her cloth, and a slight thread of blood leaking from it.

“Oh? Thou possesseth a spell to cut a God? An exhilarating development this is! It hath been long since a man touched me so!”

Why would she be happy about being injured… She’s definitely a crazy Goddess. Though what does it mean when this glows green? A vision isn’t coming like last time! the lady thought as she continued to examine the medallion, hoping something else aside from the green glow would happen.

“Ehehe, but that’s as far as thou may traverse, for I am Discordia! Hahahahaha!”

The Goddess showed a ghastly smile, revealing fangs and her contorted expression. A terrible wind blew once more. It was cold, and it smelled like a corpse, the knight was pushed and his back again fell on the lady he was protecting behind him.

“Tch, this is impossible after all…” the man muttered, but this time, he was barely moving.

“Are you okay? This thing is just glowing green but no vision is occuring I have no clue what to do with it.”

He rolled to the side with a grunt. She could see the green aura stick to his form for a moment before it broke off as he moved.

“I do not know either…”

The wind got stronger and even though they were on the floor, it was pushing them further away.

“Damn it,” she said as she tried to keep her ground but the wind continue to push her. “Hey you do you feel different? That aura transferred into your body for some reason…”

“What…?” the knight asked with a raspy voice. “I felt a surge of mana for a moment but I thought it was my imaginat—that aura is completely all over you now!”

“What are you talking abo…” she said as she glanced at herself for a moment, realizing then her body was faintly glowing green for some reason. “What is this? What does this mean?” She felt something strange in her body a few seconds after yet she could still not tell what it meant.

“The magic is active for some reason… the Divine instrument is resonating with you.”

“Oh? For such a rare grimoire to be in thy hands, it appeareth that the heavens have blessed me most heartily today!” Discordia said grandly as she spread her arms, laughing afterwards with the wind intensifying.

“Well that's good and all, but can it do something about this stupid wind. It’s annoying as hell already!” the lady said.

“I don’t know but we can try! Can you hold me? Maybe I can use the power of the Divine instrument through you.”

“Fine. You better make it work,” she said as she extended her hand towards the knight.

The green aura flowed into the knight’s body and he gained the same glow as his compatriot. “Jonathan’s bow, for you are a vessel of the hero!” Three bows formed in his hands as he prepared the bow once more. “Swifter than eagle, stronger than lions! With all speed, dispatch your enemy!” The arrows were let loose and with great speed they impaled the Goddess, falling upon the arm she employed to guard herself.

“What…?!” The wind stopped. Discordia was puzzled, droplets of her blood falling upon the altar. She plucked the arrows out and crushed them under her palm, and they burned to dust. “That… wretched Miko! How dare thee use the grimoire against me?!”

“Ohoho, not so nice being on the receiving end is it? Worry not, there’s more where that came from,” the lady said as she could not help but smiled.

“You got that right!” the knight shouted, and more green arrows were shot forth. The Goddess this time used her claws to tear them away. They could see her wounds closing shut immediately.

“Hahaha!! Do thou truly believe that’s enough to kill me?! Foolish!” Black wings spawned from her back and she flew up from the altar. She raised her palm to the air. The ceiling was torn apart as thunder blitzed through it, raining down upon them.

The knight grunted and leapt up, carrying the woman in his arms once more in haste. With the wind gone, they were free to move again.

“She’s too bloody strong even when she’s injured!” the knight said.

“Well at this point I doubt we can escape. We have to fight her till the end. Unless you think you can actually outspeed her,” the lady said, wondering if there was something she could do herself against Discordia. “Hey, do you think this Divine power enhanced my own body? Maybe I can fight her head on.”

“Well, you can try…” The knight landed on the other side of the hall and released her. I honestly doubt it, though.

“Just to be safe.” She picked up a stone from the ground and she quickly threw it at Discordia.

The stone fell short, barely showing any remarkable distance on its way. In fact, it didn’t even cross half the distance required, and the Goddess laughed at her mockingly.

“What’s the point of this stupid power if I can’t use it myself!”

“Maybe it wasn’t meant for a novice—nor a human,” the knight said in a matter-of-factly tone. “Just make sure to hold on to me and pass its power over.”

“What am I, just a battery now?” she said, feeling greatly annoyed.

“You have better ideas?”

The wind resumed, and they smelled the stench of dead bodies once more. “Done speaking?” Bolts of thunder started to form and surround her.

Still annoyed the lady placed her hand on the knights back as she couldn’t do anything else herself. The knight in turn readied more arrows and shot. The bolts of lightning met them in turn, resulting in a fierce battle of bursting lights and magic that tore the cathedral apart more and more with each moment. Even with a stray arrow that survived past the shower of lightning—the Goddess simply dodged it with ease. The Goddess moved left, right, up, then down—further evading his shots instead of blocking them with the bolts now. She made a playful smirk, as if mocking the knight and his companion. Eventually, she appeared just beside them—particularly Beatrix—and took up her claws.

“I wonder how thou would feel if I rip this maiden asunder?”

“Dammit!”

The Goddess slashed and the knight shouted, getting between Discordia and the lady in the last moment, and receiving the slash that dug deep into his flesh, drawing forth crimson. He screamed from being unable to bear the sensation of pain.

“Hmph, pathetic man.” The Goddess picked him up from the floor and threw him away to a stray pillar lying on the floor.

Discordia made a mirthful smile. “Now it is but thou and me left. Ehehe, I wonder how thy scream would sound?”

The lady couldn't help but take a step back. Even though she said all those things earlier she was still scared. Never once had she been in a fight before. She wasn't even sure anymore why she agitated her. It wasn't like her. Yet part of her seemed to have enjoyed it even if it was suicidal. She took one more glance at the medallion before facing Discordia again.

She began to pray to no one in particular as she hadn't believed in Gods and Goddesses before, especially after her life went to ruins, but at this point she thought—why not, as she was facing a Goddess and had nothing to lose at this point.

“Ahaha, I've never imagined myself cornered like this before. Fine then, bring it on old hag. I'll make sure I'm stepping on you when this is all over.”

“Hmph, foolish child.”

With a flick of a finger on the forehead, Discordia caused the frail lady to be embedded against the wall before it caved in from the sheer force of the Goddess. However, she was still alive by some miracle, despite blood flowing down from above the forehead. She could hardly move, her bones ached and burned. It was then that something rattled against the dusty littered floor. She looked down, and there was a bow—the knight’s bow. She saw him, his arm outstretched.

“Use it…!” he shouted, his voice strained.

“Hahahaha!!” Discordia laughed heartily. “For a man to have such gall. It appeareth thou requireth more Divine judgement.” A black aura cradled the Goddess and she raised her arm that faced the man. Thunderbolts were unleashed, and thus she tortured him unceasingly, making the man’s voice echo throughout the broken halls.

The lady reached and grabbed the knight’s bow, her body in pain even with the slightest of movements. Never once in her life had she experienced such pain in her body. Standing up as fast as she currently could, she raised the bow and aimed at Discordia. This better work, she thought as she pulled on the string of the bow.

The medallion glowed much brighter than before and the arrows were now beams of blinding light as they were launched from the bow.

“What?!” Discordia placed her hands before herself and the lights clashed with her fiercely, the shocking bondage on the knight stopping at the same time. A thunderous roar escaped, the surroundings crumbling at the display of Godly power. As the shower of light ended, it appeared that the arrows were embedded into the arms of the Goddess, as she peered down at them charred black.

“Tch, I’d have hoped you’d went down,” the lady said as she aimed at Discordia yet again and pulled the string.

The arrows of light were now much larger than before, striking against the Goddess once more. Her arms—unable to withstand the power of the grimoire—were burned to ashes and they thus impaled her body. The scream of the Goddess filled the halls, followed by an explosion. When the smoke subsided, one would see Discordia’s floating young body burning in flames, and its form slowly crumbling.

“Heh, so this is how it is. Forsooth, the grimoire rebelled, but even so, a day shall come one I shalt pronounce upon thee judgement.”

“Really now? I don’t think you're in a position to be giving out any more threats,” the lady said as as sly smile could be seen on her. She began walking towards Discordia but after a few steps she fell down to her knees as both her legs had given out. “Why now…”

“Impertinent child, a day shall come when ye shall learn thy place!”

With those words, the Goddess’ body crumbled to ashes, and they were carried away by a mysterious wind. Something seemed to be left behind but the lady’s vision was starting to become very blurry. Unable to see, fatigue caught up to her and she fell flat on the floor, letting go of the bow and the medallion, the glow of which ceased.

That was fun while it lasted. For some reason I wanted more… she thought.

A feeling of excitement had run into her body those few moments she was able to fire the arrows at Discordia. She had hoped to feel this feeling yet again. In all her life she had never experienced anything such like it. Even though she had felt complete fear at first she slowly had began to enjoy it. She felt as though she wanted the fight to continue or be much longer.

She opened her eyes. It was blurry, but her vision was beginning to adapt to the new space she found herself in. It was white—infinitely white. Then she saw the face of a child-like person, yet at the same time, she could tell that this person was older than she seemed.

“The black art epimetheus and I left behind.”

“The sacred birth of an illegitimate child—shrouded in darkness—born of a fool and a witch.”

“A sacred rite of usurpation, only possible with the sacrifice of a God. To think you’d succeed in such a manner. Now, the conditions have finally met.”

“Truly, it’s yet another gift of heaven.”

“Huh? Where am I? Who are you?” she said, confused. Why was everything white? Had she died in the end during the fight with Discordia? Many thoughts went through her head as she tried to make out the situation.

“You are in the realm between life and death.” The woman smiled. “I am the ever-gifting Goddess Pandora. You can call me Mom if you want.”

“Well then Mom, why am I here? Did I end up dying in the fight with that old hag?”

“You could say that, but you could not say that at the same time. Your body was sacrificed to slay that Eris.”

“Wait did that medallion end up taking my life…?” she said as she couldn’t believe she had died. “Why did this happen? All I wanted was to start my life anew. Sure it felt fun fighting her but I thought I just fainted back then…”

“Now, now, calm down. It was not the medallion that ended your life, it was the sacred rite of usurpation. You are to be reborn as the child of a fool and a witch—a King among Kings. Thus, I am your mom, hoho.”

“Wait, if I have to be reborn does that mean I’m going have to go through childhood again? Why a King also! Being a Queen is much better.” She had many questions. She was not sure what to ask first as the situation felt so sudden to her.

Pandora laughed. “That is just how it is, for a King is traditionally a ruler, and a Queen is traditionally a consort. You are made a King—a ruler—not based upon gender, but upon the Divine Authority that you usurped from Goddess Eris, in other words, Discordia.”

“Fine, I’ll change that tradition and mindset once reborn!”

“Oh, whose consort do you want to be so badly? To withdraw your rule upon mankind for such a petty want! As expected of my child!”

“Who said I shall become someone’s consort? I shall show them my power and show them a Queen can also be a ruler of mankind. Who needs a King anyway?”

“But a Queen is nothing but a consort. You’re one of the stranger fools, huh?”

“I would imagine a mother would be supportive of their child’s decision. Hmph.”

“It’s just not something I can comprehend.” Pandora shrugged. “Kids these days.”

“Well, you mentioned something about Divine Authorities that I usurped from Goddess Eris. What exactly did you mean by that?”

“Not Authorities, but a single Authority. The Divine Authority of a God is something that is based on their Divinity—it is a right of power. This power is what makes you a King—a Devil King—for you’re the rebel who may slay other Gods with this power.”

“Really? To think I actually managed that. Though wait, am I gonna be reborn poor still? It’s gonna be no fun being penniless. Please tell me we inherit some money as well, Mom.”

“Huh? Money? Well, you’re going to be reborn as you were before you died but as a more powerful being, so…”

“Why must this part stay the same?!”

“Well, well, don’t worry, you’re the son of a fool, something will work out!”

“How does that even help? Wouldn’t that mean you married a fool?”

“Yes. So? Isn’t it because you’re a fool that you managed to do something so foolish as challenging a Goddess and coming out as the victor?”

“Well she ruined the only place I had left to call home. What else was I supposed to do? I’m penniless, my mother gave up everything we had. I just couldn’t stand it anymore.”

“That doesn’t change the fact I stated though. Hahaha! Anyway! You’ll be fine, stop being a worrywart, and just do what you feel like! You’re the King now, after all.” She sounded like a cheerleader as she tried to encourage the lady.

“Fine I will!” she said as she suddenly began to feel dizzy. “What’s happening now…” she placed her hand on her head.

“You… will begin… the… oh… careful… sibling…”

Again her eyelids parted, and her blurry vision began to adapt. Instead of a white space, there was a brown ceiling. The lady who had slayed Discordia found herself on an old bed. As she collected herself, she realized that it was the only house she had. The house that was said to be crumbling slowly even now, and had just about a month of lifetime left. As she turned an eye to the left, she found the blonde knight sitting on a chair beside her.

“Oh you’re here so then all that wasn’t just a dream then,” she said, recalling the fight with Discordia. “How long has it been since the fight?”

“I wish it was all a dream,” the knight answered with a smug smile. “About six hours have passed. It’s the evening now… so I guess, good evening, Miss? It appears we have done a rather ridiculous thing today.”

“You're telling me? I didn’t even know Gods and Goddess truly existed till today. Though I wish the fight lasted longer, I barely did anything.”

“You must be a truly bored individual if you wish for a life-threatening fight to last long.”

“I’m not sure. I was never in a fight till today. Around the end it started to feel enjoyable, it was such a wonderful feeling.”

“Well, congratulations, you’re one of the trouble-makers of the world now, Miss.”

“I believe someone should be more respectful. You might have saved my life a couple of times but I did end up killing that Goddess for you.”

“I believe we are equal on that note, if not for my bows you would never have been able to do a thing.”

“Hmph. Fine I’ll let it slide only because you did save me. If you hadn’t I would have never done what I did,” she said as stood up. “Now what though? Do I get some sort of reward for killing her?”

“I don’t think I’d care even if you didn’t let it slide.” The knight sighed. What a childish King. “I believe you’ve already reaped the rewards from Discordia.”

“That’s a whole different matter. I’m not letting what I got from her whatever it is be a reward from your group. I’m certain you guys have a lot money so I can accept cash as a reward.”

“Unfortunately, you have the wrong idea. You just earned an Authority from Discordia. At least I believe that’s how it went. So, if you remember what we spoke of previously about the Kings, you just became one of them.”

“It’s annoying being known as a King rather than being known as a Queen. Though if you're not gonna be helping me out why are you still here?”

“Well, you’re a King now, so I figured as a knight I should guide you for a bit to the Magic World, otherwise you’d become a roaming calamity like a tornado—we don’t want that.”

“You already said I’m not getting anything from you guys so why should I go on tour with you? I’d rather go and find ways to make money since I’m broke.”

“I could offer you a place to live in if you want for now.”

“Would I be given servants or are you guys just gonna have me there?”

“For now my servants will have to do. Honestly, I am just personally helping since I know your situation, my organization might have different ideas, but I think they’ll want to keep a lasting relation with you. The Mage’s Associations all want the patronage of a King, after all.

“I suppose for now I’ll see how it goes. Considering the little options I have,” she said, not completely liking the idea, but with how little knowledge she had about what just happened she figured it would be best to just follow the knight for now.

“Are you fine with leaving behind this place, though?”

“Can’t you see how dusty it is? I was barely gonna move back in here today. You already said it's gonna collapse in a month as well. No point in staying unless you're willing to fix it for me because I can’t myself right now. If anything at least the plot of land will still be under my name. If I can fix my money problems I can also build something later.”

The knight blinked. “In a countryside like this? Perhaps it’s just me but I prefer to be in more populated areas. That said, you should get your belongings together, as we’re leaving for Rome.”

“That’s already taken care of. I believe you saw the bag I had earlier? All my belongings are there.”

“Oh. That said, I never asked about your name. My name is Allen Osbourne.”

“Ohoho, I thought you’d never ask. I am Queen Beatrix Fortunato. Remember that, Mister Allen.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, King Beatrix Fortunato.” The knight made a respectable bow as he spoke in a joking tone. “Now, let us depart.”

“I said Queen not King!”

“Perhaps you did, but you are a King as far as I am aware. A Devil King, a Godslayer.”

†˜I’ll make sure to change that one day. Hmph, let's go then.”

“It has been that way for over a millennium now. You’re one willful King, huh?” The knight thus got off the chair and held the door open for Beatrix to pass.

“I don’t care for how long it's been going. Things change over time. This might not have changed yet but I’ll make sure it does!” Beatrix said, grabbing her bag and headed towards the door.

“I’m already seeing the troubles in the horizon thanks to you now.”

It took a considerable amount of time to find their way into the train station. Literally, they spent some time before finding a transport to reach Siena, after which Allen guided Beatrix to the station, thus boarding a train to Rome.

Upon taking their seats Beatrix began to wonder what she could ask Allen as she still needed many answers to things she still didn’t fully get. She wondered what she could ask. After pondering she finally knew what to ask first.

“Hey, I hope you know I got many questions for you so no more being vague. First off what do these Kings of yours mostly do anyway?”

“The Kings have only one duty, and that is to fight the Heretic Gods—an example would be Discordia… and whoever she was fighting the first time we met her. There are no humans that may generally withstand the Heretic Gods in the world so mankind must depend on them. Which is conversely the reason why you’re a King, and thus have the right to command mankind instead. Since you’d be doing them a big favor.”

“Then I command you to refer to me as a Queen, not King!” Beatrix said as she could still not accept being referred as a King. “Well, why are there even Heretics Gods around? Shouldn’t Gods be in Heaven or something, not on Earth?”

He sighed. “Well, Queen, they say the Heretic Gods like to spawn when they feel like it. Honestly, it’s something the magicians have been researching for centuries but it’s still more or less a mystery.”

“I see. Does that mean if I wanted to fight another one I have to wait till one just shows up? That would be rather boring if I do.”

“Yes. You may go search for one, but to be honest, that may also be a huge waste of time, and is unsightly for a King if you ask me. What you may do is ally yourself with a Mage’s Association, and make them do work for you.”

“How does that work? Considering I’m broke I don’t even know if I can get anyone to work for me.”

“No King pays the Mage’s Associations, they become their patron instead, like a support. Although this would mean they get to call upon you first if anything happens—it’s still a win for you since you get to fight. Mage’s Associations generally enjoy a state of high position of some sort in the magical society, so they like to ally themselves with a Campione. Sometimes it can get more complicated than that. As for money, you’re worrying too much, as a King a time will come where you’ll stop caring about it.”

“Well if they support me in all ways I can live with that. I’m not sure why still but if all I have to do is fight another Heretic God then it is fine with me. I’ll take on anyone who seems interesting.” Beatrix smiled, the thought of fighting another God making her ecstatic.

Allen only looked at the smile and faced the window instead. “Yeah, you could even force them to get you a new abode in some nice place, who knows, you could easily travel abroad too.”

“Wonderful. Seems this shall be a great new life,” Beatrix said, only being able to imagine what she could do next. “By the way you said I was a Miko before, right? How do I improve in that? It seems interesting to try.”

“Miko are like… well, they’re the ones born with magical talents. It kinda depends on each Miko, but generally in Europe, they’re what you call the †˜witches.’”

“Feels like I would be treated better in Japan than here in Europe. Would you know someone who could teach me more about Mikos? Unless you know everything there is to know about being a Miko.”

“Ahaha, I wish I did, but the Witch I knew…” Just wouldn’t work out with you. “Well, some of them are parts of cults are, some of them are secretive, but I could look into it. If you are interested in venturing out of Italy, it may be worth noting that you may come across regional conflicts with other Campiones.”

“That’s fine with me. Once I figure out what I can do I want to test it out against others. The stronger the better,” Beatrix said as she then realized something. “Wait I can control whole regions?”

“Well… in a way, yes. The True Queen of Britain is currently ruling over all of Europe, including this country. There is the Asian Campione who rules over the east, and they’ve been a bit of a rival for a long time now.”

“Well then I shall make sure Italy falls under my rule. Like I will let an outsider be in charge,” Beatrix declared.

“That is rather whimsical. What happened to going over to Japan?”

“I shall take over the entire world then. That should be great fun. Of course I must get stronger first before I realize that dream,” she said, smiling.

Dear Lord, this will be bad if I don’t get away from her as soon as possible… “Good luck with that, and don’t say I didn’t warn you about the other Campiones.”

“Worry not, I’ll make sure to be ready when I begin my conquest. Now then how many of these Campiones are there? Unless there are only these two you mentioned.”

“No, there are… hmm, well, you’d be the seventh King now, well, Queen. Whatever the case, there are six others.”

“Oh, I take it each one rules one of the continents then, right?”

“Something like that. For example there is one who rules over the United States.”

“Not all of North America? That’s odd if they don’t. I would imagine go big or go home.”

“Maybe, I don’t really pay attention to all the activities of the other Campiones. I’ve lived mostly in Italy and some of the other European nations, so the most I know of is the True Queen… well, not much, but as far as rumors go, I guess.”

“Hmph, I suppose I’ll find out as time passes. Well then may I ask how I can get a Magic Organization to become my patron? If this other Queen rules Europe wouldn’t that mean I will have trouble getting support?”

“I think it’s you who becomes the patron. Anyway, there may be some trouble, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find someone who’d want to place their bets on a new King and thus gain popularity and power. I doubt you can get a Mage’s Association directly allied with the True Queen to join you though.”

“That’s fine, I’ll take them away from her one day. Getting my own for now is good enough.”

“I don’t think my Mage’s Association is particularly controlled directly, so that could be a potential choice.”

“Good. Then we shall see if yours can follow me around,” Beatrix said, stretching. “By the way can I keep that medallion? Since it seems only I can use it. I don’t think you have any need for it do you?”

“No, I’ve already taken it back. Until the higher ups make the decision, I cannot lease it to you any more than necessary.”

“Tch. Fine,” Beatrix said, pouting. “I guess lastly when can we eat? I have not eaten all day, I’m starving.”

“I guess I’ll buy something when the train stops at a station. Though that medallion, I have a feeling it’s gonna find its way back to you anyway.”

“It better, but I suppose I should find a weapon I can use it with when it does.”

“Let’s hope it really is a weapon that can be utilized, and that it wasn’t some stroke of luck that let you shoot that kind of crazy arrow of light.”

“Right, I forgot I don’t even know how I got it to activate. I suppose I can test it out once I get it back.”

“Yeah, it seems to have a lot of potential untapped power that could be used for the good of the world… but then such grimoires are a mystery, and could easily go out of control.” Then again, you don’t seem like a good person to begin with, not that my opinion matters before a King.

Good of the world? Why would I waste it on something like that. I want to use it for myself. “We shall see. There is still much I need to learn but if a fight presents itself I will be ready.”

“Well, anything else you’d like to know?”

“I think there is more but nothing else comes to mind. I have to see more things to have more questions. Hard to ask when I don’t know anything, really, and can only ask about stuff I’ve seen or you’ve given a brief explanation about.”

Arriving to the Roma Tiburtina, Beatrix accompanied Allen in Rome, where he found a taxi, generally took care of almost every small expenses, and led her to his abode. It was not exactly as big as the mansion she had lived in her past. A two-storey house—she could see the Roman influence of architecture across the interiors. The front halls were very decorated with all kinds of paintings and portraits. Beatrix didn’t see many servants except the one who welcomed them.

“If you’re tired,” Allen began, “we may prepare the guest room for you and you may rest. Otherwise, I can probably prepare to depart for the headquarters of my Mage’s Association.”

“I’m fine, I can rest afterwards. I’m eager to see more of this new world I just learned of today.” Though I thought you had more than this. I guess it’s more than what I had in the end so at least that’s good.

“No change of clothes…? Just like that?” The knight blinked. “Never mind. We may as well go right now.”

“Oh, you're right. In all my excitement I forgot. Actually let me take a shower and bath first. Looking at myself now, I need one.”

“Understood, would you like my maid to prepare some change of clothes for you?”

“Yes. I am in total need for some. These clothing of mine are as good as ruined at this point.”

“Just let my maid know if the sizes don’t fit, then. Please excuse me.”

After being lead to the shower room. Beatrix undressed herself and headed into the shower after making sure the water was nice and warm. It felt like heaven to her body. It had been a while since she was able to take a shower without being rushed from the gyms she would sneak in to take them in. She now wondered if this was all real. Even now a part of her could still not believe her fortune or what she had experienced out there. Never in her life would she imagine she would fight a Goddess one day, why should she? She hadn’t even believed in them in the first place. She now wondered what kind of other Gods or Goddesses she would meet. She wanted to feel that feeling again, that rush for fighting she felt at the end towards Discordia. It was disappointing to her that when she was finally able to do something it only lasted a short time. It had left her wanting more.

“I wonder how long it will take for me to experience another fight with a Heretic God? I need more…”

Once she was done, Beatrix looked at the dresses provided by the maid. Examining them she took a liking for one of the black dresses. It was simple but still a wonderful dress to her. She then began to dress herself which only took a few minutes. It took much longer to get her hair ready as it had been a mess as she had been unable to take proper care of it for sometime.

“There, I am ready, we can go meet Allen now,” Beatrix said, adding a few last touches as she headed back.

Thus, guided by the maid, she walked past the long veranda hallway and soon crossed a staircase to reach the front hall in which Allen was waiting. The knight only gave a nod of acknowledgement before they departed from the mansion and entered a black car.

“Was the guest room to your liking?” Allen asked after they sat down. “My manor isn’t anything fancy like what your parents might’ve had in their glory days, I’d think.”

“It was acceptable. After what I’ve gone through it’s better than what I had before today.”

“I see, I suppose that’s true. I’ve already made mention to my associates that I am escorting a King—well, a Queen—to the headquarters, but I didn’t reveal your identity, just so you know.”

“Ohoho, worry not, I shall clearly let them know who I am,” Beatrix said, smiling.

“I figured you’re good at those kind of things…” Seems like I was right.

“Now that I am a Queen. The whole world must eventually know who I am. It shall start with an impression.”

“You’ll probably get to select retainers from the Mage’s Association as well if you do successfully ally yourself with them. So good luck with the world domination and all that, I guess.”

“Ohoho, excellent! Picking retainers that fit my plans and demands shall be wonderful. Is your organization big?”

“My Mage’s Association the Old Dame is, well, old—and is definitely influential, it is one of the †˜seven sisters’ of Italy.”

“Oh, that’s good. Then I shall try my best to make them serve me then.”

I wonder if things will really go her way… then again, it’s none of my business, right?

Allen looked forward, the headquarters of Old Dame was now before the vehicle after minutes of driving had passed. The gates parted ways to provide them entry and the car drove inside. The door was opened for them by the driver, and thus they exited the vehicle. Beatrix looked up to the majestic premises that she was brought over to. While it seemed to be only two-storey like Allen’s house, it was completely incomparable—it was extremely large, and she couldn’t tell where the end of this structure was, but it’d take an hour or more to traverse all the way, likely. She saw an insignia of a black mantle with a masquerade mask just above it, which signified the Old Dame.

Soon, they entered. The decorations were lavish inside, and it felt as though she entered the house of an aristocrat. Some of the gentlemen looked at Beatrix with strange glares, while others greeted Allen, who showed a completely different smile as he returned the greetings casually to his peers.

Beatrix was mesmerized. Her family might have been well off but it was nothing compared to this. She felt that she had to make this organization her patron no matter what. It seemed like she would not have to worry about anything anymore if she did. She wondered what she might have to do to get them to agree to her demands.

After a flight of stairs they ascended to the second floor, and again took to another hallway. She could see portraits pertaining to Christianity, with notable views of angels and Christ taking the stage, including Mary.

Allen stopped before a set of doors at the end of the passage and turned to Beatrix.

“Are you ready to take the stage as the latest King?” he asked.

“You’re gonna keep saying it like that aren’t you?!” Beatrix said angrily. Just being referred as a “King” annoyed her greatly. “Of course I am. I shall become the greatest.”

“Right, please excuse my memory, Queen.” Allen knocked on the door, and soon the person on the other side beckoned for them to enter.

A lady donning a black and purple dress sat behind a desk inside the office room, and Beatrix could see many papers strewn across not only said desk, but the floor as well. In the corner of the room were a pair of couches and Allen silently gestured toward them for Beatrix.

This apparent leader of the organization of Old Dame held what appeared to be a steel pipe, and by now the scent of the fume hanging adrift the room caught on to the guest—the so-called Queen. Her hair was black and her eyes, purple. Her choker held a ribbon and a cross both, which made her strange fashion sense apparent.

“That’s a bit rude, Allen—coming here without setting an appointment with me.”

“I apologize.”

“And you brought someone I know not of.”

“I apologize.”

“But, since you’re here and I’m a good woman, I shall forgive you.”

“I thank you for the kind words.”

It appeared as though they recited from a script—a routine they had practiced over a hundred times. Allen appeared to be completely uncaring, but he went along with his dialogues regardless.

“Now, I don’t know what you’re here for,” the leader of the organization said. She barely looked to be beyond twenty-five. “But I am a busy person, so time is short.”

“I’m Queen Beatrix Fortunato, the woman who defeated the Goddess Discordia. I’ve come here to garner your support,” Beatrix said proudly.

“Huh?” She blinked and stared for some moments. “So… you’re a new Devil King, Miss Fortunato?” The woman gave Allen a curious look next.

Allen seemed to make a face that roughly translated to “don’t ask me.”

“There goes that King stuff again! I defeated Discordia somehow I guess so I suppose it does.”

“This is the first time a King has had an issue with being called a King? Anyway, it’s a pleasure to meet Your Majesty. I am Alberta Radcliff, the head of Old Dame. You want us to accept you as our patron, was it?”

“A Queen can have as much power as a King so being called Queen would be better. Additionally I believe it fits me better,” Beatrix said, still not letting it go about being called Queen instead. “Yes I would like it if you can give me financial support.”

“Very well… that is what I shall go with.” This is different from the Campione I dealt with before… “Hm, and what merits do we have for it from Your Majesty’s side?”

“I would pretty much fight any Heretic God that shows up I suppose? Isn’t that all you have Campione’s do?”

“That is what they do, yes, and that is a merit shared by everyone in the world, but I am asking what my Queen shall do for us specifically by allying with us. I can already see the changes in balance of power if you do wish to reign upon Italy.”

“Is fighting Gods for you not enough? I can’t see what else I can do for you. I believe you need me more. Unless your other Campione will just be coming here whenever you need them.”

“Well…” Allen began, “I believe Miss Alberta is speaking in a more political sense. For example, Queen Beatrix, what is the goal at the moment, to take over Italy from the True Queen, yes?”

“Of course and how come you can easily call her Queen? Even saying †˜true’ as well.”

“Because I respect Her Majesty greatly.”

“Okay, so Your Majesty wants to take over Italy…” Alberta bursted out laughing after a moment. “How interesting! To take over the country from the True Queen! So, let’s say Your Majesty succeeds, what shall be our position afterwards?”

“You would be the ones in charge after me. Of course I do plan to take the rest from her eventually but starting with Italy for now should be enough.”

“That’s nice, I like ambitious people like Your Majesty.” She could feel Allen wanting to sigh and thus smiled at him all the same. “With this, we’ll finally gain regional influence as a Magic Association, and with my Queen’s help I hope that will be maintained in the future.”

A sly smile could be seen on Beatrix’ face as if she was ecstatic “Worry not, you shall gain all the influence you can under me. But like all great leaders one must start somewhere. If I’m to overthrow this other Queen I need a better understanding of my power.”

“Hm, a better understanding, huh? I think the best way is to face a Heretic God and finding out on the go. We never really get told how the Campiones learn to use their Authorities, but historically, it’s said that they just figure out somehow.”

“How interesting. Then my first goal shall be to seek out a Heretic God then. I must get a clear understanding of my powers. Perhaps I might even gain another.”

“For every God slain, Your Majesty would gain a new Authority, yes. There have been some Heretic Gods reported around Italy, so I don’t think it’ll be that hard to find one.”

“Oh, would you happen to know of any nearby currently? I would love to go out and try out my powers. The sooner the better.

“There has been some strange phenomenon recorded in Siena so far… and Allen was dispatched to investigate.”

“Right, about that, the cause of disturbance was Discordia and and another Goddess we don’t know of. When I encountered them they were having a duel.”

“Hm, that was in San Gimignano, right? But now I hear something about †˜weird’ weather that took place in Siena itself. So maybe that Goddess moved there?”

“That’s a possibility.”

“Alright, so as Your Majesty knows now, that Goddess may be in Siena, and could be a fitting opponent.”

“Ohoho, then let us head there. I’m truly eager to find out what I’m capable of now.” Beatrix couldn’t help but grin.

“Great, now the question is, does Your Majesty need any retainers?”

“That is a silly question, of course I do as Queen. What kind of Queen does not have retainers?”

So she admits to not being as equally great as a King… Allen shook his head in his heart.

“Well it seems to depend based on individual Campiones so I figured I should ask just to be safe. Your Majesty may pick our members for aid. Allen here is one of our brightest.”

“Oh no, I’d not say that,” Allen said, waving his hands dismissively.

“Perhaps after meeting the others I can make my choice. Picking the first one you see even if you know them somewhat can lead to regrets later.”

“Unfortunately, most of our members are out scouting for Heretic Gods, running errands, and doing other things. Why not just take Allen for now? Even if it could lead to regrets, it’s better than working with a complete stranger.”

“I suppose it’s fine. I already know he is capable as well,” Beatrix said, a bit annoyed.

“Alright, I’ll try to call some of our members back but honestly, it’s going to take some months. Your Majesty must have some patience—they’re mostly out abroad.”

“That’s fine, as long as I eventually get them. For now fighting another Heretic God is more important to me.”

“Alright. I’ll let Allen guide Your Majesty for now. Allen, I hope your like your new temporary post. I wish you luck!”

Why me… However, Allen had no choice but to resign to his fate. “Understood, I shall do my best to serve my Queen.”

“Then shall we head out? I don’t believe you require anything else, right?”

“Probably not, we can take the car to Siena. It’ll probably not take long to get there.”

“Then let us go. The fun await us.”

As Beatrix and Allen took leave of the room and the doors were shut, the leader of the organization, Alberta Radcliff grinned to herself.

“A seventh King, and a rebellion against the True Queen—how interesting—finally, we the Old Dame may rise to prominence. If this new Queen holds any promise, I’d finally live to see the anguish of Saint Gloria… hahahahaha!!”

The youngest King, the seventh Campione—a Godslayer who plotted to take over Italy as part of her great scheme—Beatrix, arrived in Siena, another town steeped in historical wonders—the city center which was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

Ever since they arrived with the vehicle, they roamed across the city with it randomly. The weather was completely normal, displaying a clear azure sky.

“Well, it appears as though the Heretic God has yet to make her appearance,” Allen said from beside Beatrix, keeping a respectable distance from her on the seats. “Is there any place Your Majesty would like to stop by, perhaps?”

“Let’s head over to Piazza del Campo. There are many things to see here supposedly, but I suppose for now that should do.”

The car was turned as it took a different route to reach Piazza del Campo as the driver heeded the words of the Queen. At the moment, Allen prayed that nothing would take place in the area that they were going.

He had heard numerous times about how the Campiones could bring disaster to an area but simply treading upon them, and he hoped that it wouldn’t be the same with Beatrix.

“I suppose Your Majesty hasn’t seen much of Siena before?”

“I’ve never been here. I’ve heard of it and had heard of the sites but I never really took an interest to come here.”

“I see. For reference, may I ask what Your Majesty’s hometown was?”

“I don’t think I have to explain how Venice is like, do I? Unless you still wish for an explanation.”

“The name is good enough. Though, Venice, huh? It’s been three years since I’ve been there… I got to live there for two years with my family until a Heretic God caused a crisis.”

“There was a crisis? I don’t believe I recall anything bad happening,” Beatrix said as she tried recalling past events.

“It might’ve been dismissed as another natural hazard by the citizens, but there was a really bad storm. My mother is not only a mage but she is also a superstitious person, who thought that the Gods would keep haunting Venice, so she decided to move.”

“I see. Well it seems I just saw it as any other storm as nothing in specific comes to mind. From my understanding shouldn’t that be a silly reason to move? Are mages not supposed to keep track of Heretic Gods? Was she not simply running away from her duties?”

“Probably… as I said, my mother is superstitious, and not everyone likes to play the hero. Besides, most magic doesn’t work on the Heretic Gods, so in a way we’re all running away, only relying on the Campiones to get the job done because even when we try, it hardly ever does a thing. I suppose my mother is not a knight so she doesn’t have any chivalrous ideals like me.”

“You sure did plunge yourself at Discordia back then. I was surprised you took so many hits. I really thought you might’ve died around when I lost consciousness. Stubborn to live, aren’t you?”

“Well, I am able to perform basic healing so I could make do. Thankfully Discordia didn’t use some kind of deathly Words of Power. Besides, Your Majesty, as a normal mortal, was there in the fight, someone had to protect Your Majesty and face the villain.” It’s mysterious how your body healed, though. I suppose that’s part of becoming a Campione…

“Words of Power? What are those?”

“Words of Power, otherwise known as the Spell Words are basically incantations, prayers, or recitals of sorts. Both magic and Authorities require them from time to time. Campiones seem to use them but I don’t know how they know them to begin with.”

“That seems rather annoying, I would hope I don’t need one. Though I don’t even know what I can do still. I would hope we can find this Heretic God soon.”

The car soon stopped and the driver opened the door for them. They exited and thus faced Piazza del Campo, the historic center of Siena, a public square that was known to be one of the greatest in Europe. Various gorgeous structures surrounded the shell-shaped space, the Torre del Mangia towering above the Palazzo Pubblico. The tower’s clock showed that it was past noon, but it was still a well-populated area even at such an hour.

“Well, if there is one, I’d think the Authority is strong. That’s my personal take on it though, but I think a recital for something powerful is a given.”

“Tch, better be something easy to say.”

“If it does come by instinct as they say, it should just flow out of the mouth fine, I’d think.”

“I hope so. How does one actually find a Heretic God by the way? Just look for bad weather?”

“Bad weather is the easiest sign, I guess… there have been other signs before, though. Earthquakes, cyclones, rampaging Divine Beasts… just to name a few.”

“Divine Beast? You mean an actual animal? That seems an odd way to find them.”

“Divine Beasts are the servants of Heretic Gods, and they’re something either a Campione or a Heretic God may summon. Although I haven’t heard much of the former happening before. Even one of these creatures may well be enough to ruin the entire region of Tuscany given the chance.”

“Really? I can't see an animal doing that. For some reason, that seems odd.”

“Thankfully, the greatest of the mages such as the Paladins of Europe may still fend them off, with good efforts anyway.”

“Oh, that's interesting though that means Divine Beast are much weaker than Gods. I suppose it’s still something worthy to fight either way.”

“Yeah, it usually depends, it could be a single powerful Divine Beast or a hoard of them. Sometimes, a stray would be left behind from the hoard after a battle and would cause wanton destruction, directionless without its master. That’s what the history of the Magic World teaches us, anyway. They say few Divine Beasts are sealed in various areas sometimes.”

Beatrix’s eyes glinted. For some reason she was excited to hear this. “My, now, would you happen to know the locations of some of this?”

“I wish I did, but different Mage’s Associations have different responsibilities, some sites are even forgotten.”

“Then finding these shall be another of my goals. I can’t let an opportunity like this get away from me.”

“I see… well, does Your Majesty have any plan or shall we roam the square?”

“Roaming around is fine. I don’t have any plans really. I just wish to find that Heretic God.”

“Hm, seeing as it is noon now, shall we have some lunch?”

“Let us then. I will need all the energy I can get if I’m to fight a God.”

Thus, they soon had lunch in one of the shops on the corners of the square, retreating past the shopping side of the streets, where many stalls selling a variety of goods were seen. She felt as though she heard a light whisper—so light she couldn’t make the words out—but amidst the crowd and tourists, she dismissed it as the voice of another ordinary being find its way to her ear by coincidence.

Eventually, she enjoyed the dish of orecchiette with tiramisu while Allen had lasagna for lunch. The moment of the terse feast was silent, save for the faint noises of the cutlery.

Just as Beatrix was about to finish, however, a loud cry of concrete was heard. Allen departed from his chair in haste, taking leave of the shop through its entrance—finding a building afar at the square of Piazza del Campo to have been demolished wholly mysteriously—a cloud of debris storming the stage.

The citizens only looked in awe and fear, not quite certain how to react.

Beatrix followed suit, disappointed she couldn’t finish her lunch, but excited at what was to come. Her heart raced with excitement. She still didn’t understand why yet she enjoyed this feeling.

“Seems someone wanted that building completely gone. I wonder who it could be.”

Just as these words left her lips, another one of the building started to be demolished, breaking spectacularly as the debris was doubled. Something seemed to walk out of it as she noted a shadow. Soon, Beatrix could see a gigantic white rabbit walk out of the destroyed structure. Beside it, another stood, seemingly a compatriot that wrecked the second house. They glowed with a golden aura, and their eyes shone crimson, and they moved in unison—and at breakneck speed, crashing into two more structures.

They could see the people running in panic now—the voices of the citizens and tourists filled the air alike.

“Speak of the devil, eh? Those are good examples of Divine Beasts! How shall we approach them, Your Majesty?”

“Seriously, giant rabbits?” Beatrix said, first surprised but then could not help but to begin laughing. “I’m not sure I can take them too seriously. I suppose though we should, I’m curious what these furballs can do.”

“…Creatures that destroy houses on a whim are laughable? I am surprised Your Majesty is not fearing such terrible creatures,” he said, restraining his tone from sounding rash. How heartless can you get…?

“I’m not sure how you can fear these giant furballs. They don’t seem scary at all. Sure they can throw a bit of lighting but wasn’t Discordia worse?”

“With all due respect, my Queen—that doesn’t make them harmless.”

“I know yet it’s hard to take giant furball serious, though it seems they would make nice fur coats and plenty of them.”

The knight remained silent, and boldly held the Queen up in both his hands—giving her a bridal carry—before a magic circle flourished under his feet.

“O Hermes, guide my feet and lead me up to the heights of the open skies!”

With the activation of the Leap spell, he ascended greatly in the air, ignoring the masses for the moment as the situation was grave, a notion the woman in his arms couldn’t sympathize with. He skipped across the structures on his way throughout the shopping street, leading up to Piazza del Campo, the square on which he stopped and allowed the Campione to stand with her own feet.

“So, thou finally showeth thyself, Godslayer?”

A singsong voice echoed across the historically-rich square, and the pair of knight and Queen was forced to look up to the Torre del Mangia, on the tip of which a slender figure in black garments stood, her seemingly blonde locks being swayed by the gentle breeze, as if it caressed her affectionately.

“To think I get to see another Goddess again.” Beatrix smiled. “How about calling your little furballs back and come down here yourself?”

“That is… the same Goddess who engaged Discordia that day,” Allen noted with a frown.

“I see thou inherited the arrogance of battle-hungry Eris,” the Goddess said, the tone of mirth was apparent. “The words of thou, I must dismiss—entertain mine own pets should ye find thyself worthy of mine presence.”

“Fine then, I hope you don’t mind when I turn your furballs into rabbit stew. I’ll come after you once I’m done with them.”

“Good, entertain me, young champion of mankind.”

Beatrix thus faced the menacing gazes of the pair of Divine Beasts—the oversized rabbits that bore pure white fur shone unnaturally against the rays of the sun. Before she could blink an eye, one of their shadows befell her and Allen stepped up, fortifying himself.

The renegade rabbit took up its small fists and legs and showed surprisingly impressive skills that seemed to represent eastern martial arts. A jab or two were blocked by the knight but in turn the earth around him shattered from the force and weight pushed against him.

“Nothing yet?!” he asked Beatrix with a strained voice.

While Beatrix could feel some kind of an energy flowing through her body, she couldn’t exactly bring forth the Authority. Seconds were spent as she tried to figure it out, but it didn’t go as planned. With a swift kick the knight found himself buried into a house. The same could be said for Beatrix with the next kick as the rabbit spun midair.

Beatrix could feel pain all over her body yet it hurt less than she had expected. It still hurt yet with how hard she was hit she expected the pain to be much worse. She began to stand up blood coming down her forehead. “Not bad, furball. I’ll happily turn you into a fur coat.”

A great power flowed through her form as she stood determined before the rabbits gazing at her. There was a bloodlust, an excitement, a savage want to tear apart the creatures that stood afar in the square. A frenzy of war beckoned her soul and soon the Campione’s destiny would be realized, for the Words of Power came to her by a notion of Divine instinct, carrying with it the terrible and unfathomable power of the War Goddess, Discordia—an aureole of blackness clinging to her form. Thus, she gave voice to these Spell Words, invoking her Authority for the first time:

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dviUR2eQjU8)

“O wretched children, weave your web of merriment with the fools in bliss—inglorious, unarmed—singing songs over the wine; you all degrade the earthy generation of Satyrs, drowning all warlike hopes in their cups. There may be banquet after battle, there may be dancing after the war in the palace grand and gorgeous—but without hard work, it is not possible to dwell in the inaccessible heavens. The road to the blessed is not easy; noble deeds give the only path to the firmament of Heaven by God's decree. You foolish beings too, then, shalt endure hardship of every kind. I, in all my rancour foretell to you the coming of your end—for I shall trample your hopes, ravish your form, and crush your very soul with afflicting discord!”

The magical power in her body heightened to extreme degrees as she recited the words with nary a mistake, her voice resounding across Piazza del Campo. She took steps forward—her steps slowly gaining more distance by the moment, as her body was increasing in size rapidly. Her body was at least fifty meters tall by the time it stopped growing—with her clothes also adjusted by the Authority.

The sun was blocked, as black clouds formed and it rained down upon the earth a kind of discord she had never seen before, not even from Discordia herself. This was a rain of grief. A strange power that invaded upon the hearts of the people, rather than affect them physically.

Attaining a Godly body from the Goddess of War, Beatrix had transcended the state of a superhuman, becoming a monster in her own league entirely. She gave out a warcry as she spread open her arms, feeling the mana coursing through her veins.

Now, the rabbits from her perspective looked like they were of ordinary size, like any other rabbits, while Allen and the Goddess looked like ants.

“Bwahaha, this is perfect! Now then, how should I crush you?!” Beatrix said, ecstatic.

The idea of crushing them excited her. This feeling was even greater than before. She could’ve never imagined herself with such power before. She didn’t care at the moment what happened to her. Crushing the rabbits was all in her mind as she lifted her leg and tried to stomp them, smiling maniacally.

She managed to crush one of the rabbits with ease—it’s body completely crushed under her foot. Were it any regular creature or human, their blood would be splattered all over the ground and bones perhaps crushed. Lifting her foot, she saw the body was gone with only gold dust left behind.

Surprised a bit, she couldn’t help but wonder if she really had killed it. During that moment, she felt a sting on her shoulder. It was the other rabbit who managed to escape her stomp and was now punching it. A grin could be seen on Beatrix’ face as she found the creature’s futile attempts to hurt her hilarious. She then hit the rabbit up in the air with her other hand. As it went up she used both her hands to smash it in between. Opening her hands only gold dust remained.

“Was that all? How boring, I expected a bit more from them,” Beatrix said, wiping her hands.

“What the hell is up with that Authority?! That is beyond ridiculous!” Allen commented under his breath as he pulled himself out of the rubbles. This is really bad… really bad! If she masters this, she could threaten almost anyone in the world with rampant destruction!

The figure of the Goddess flew up from the tip of Torre del Mangia, and revealed herself before the seventh Devil King.

“Oh? Thine prowess as a warrior interests me, Godslayer. I shall commend thee.”

She wore a jet black bunny outfit that anyone could recognize from a casino. A modern attire that the Goddess seemed to have taken a liking to, her blonde hair adorned with a rose-tipped accessory. Her eyes were gleaming crimson, just like the rabbits that Beatrix had murdered.

“Really now? That’s good because you’re next,” Beatrix said as she swatted her hand towards the rabbit Goddess.

The Goddess of rabbits vanished in that instant, and appeared to be sitting on the fist she threw. Beatrix hammered with her other hand and then her adversary was back to the air, looking down at her from above her head. Like this, Beatrix continued throwing her large fists at the Goddess blindly in rancor, with the little Heretic God blitzing past the knuckles with ease.

The Goddess’ bunny ears arched down from the top of the head as if she lost her excitement.

“Thou art as slow as a pig crawling upon mud, I am disappointed!”

“What!? How dare you say that! I’ll make sure to make you eat those words!” Breatix said angrily as she threw punches at the Goddess yet again.

“Display to me greater agility thence, Godslayer.”

Thus the Goddess responded as she evaded with ease, twisting and turning as she narrowly escaped the onslaught now as if to mock Beatrix, instead of disappearing as she did before with incredible agility. In about the sixth fist that was launched thus far, the rabbit Goddess finally showed herself upon Beatrix’ face. She seemed to take on a stance of a martial artist, similarly like her white rabbits. With one single kick she sent the Queen toppling down to the earth, her back destroying many more houses and concrete, inciting a symphony of cries from the innocent people.

Beatrix felt furious. She expected hiccups yet for some reason this Goddess made her blood boil. If she ever managed to get a hold of her she knew she would take great pleasure tearing her limb from limb. She stood up as fast as she could as she tried to hit the Goddess yet again with her fist.

There was a thunderous roar as electricity crackled. Lightning rained down from the clouds and what Beatrix’ fist met was said lightning instead of the Goddess. A powerful current surged through her veins, making her blood boil literally and she squirmed in pain. Beatrix could see the black clouds becoming gray, and thunders raged violently, as the Golden Rabbit pointed a finger up to the Heavens, claiming the sky as her own.

“Thou Authority is untrained. For new thou art, †˜tis what one may expect.”

Beatrix couldn’t help but only glare at the Goddess, furious she’s been unable to hit her. Was this really all she could do? She felt that she should be able to do more, she couldn’t accept in her mind that she couldn't hit her even once.

“I suppose a Heretic God specializing in speed is still beyond the reach despite how fast Her Majesty crushed the Divine Beasts…” Allen commented from the sides, having taken more distance to ensure safety. In his heart he prayed for those that might’ve died due to Beatrix falling upon the buildings.

“I hath sated mine boredom—played enough I have. Depart I shall. O Godslayer of mankind, meet again we shall in the battlefield, great expectations I have from ye.” Her voice ended with an echo as her form turned into a dust of gold with the wind, the weather turning normal yet again.

As soon as the Goddess departed, the rush of power and bloodlust began to shrink greatly, as did her body, still fidgeting due to the lashing lightnings that she suffered from. As her strength gave out and the black aura faded, she almost fell to the ground—now in her normal form—but Allen caught her at the very last moment.

“Damn her!! I’ll make her pay for this humiliation!” Beatrix said angrily, part of her wanting to go after the Goddess yet she knew the same result would happen again as this power was still new to her.

“In time, my Queen… I believe the Goddess is correct, this Authority needs work,” Allen said. “Too bad Your Majesty couldn’t kill her, though…” All the sacrifices are for naught now.

“Then I shall perfect it then crush her beneath my feet!” Beatrix said as she then began grinning.

“That sounds great, but I sincerely hope you both don’t meet each other for a good while… reaching that level of speed may require more than just perfecting this Authority.”

“Worry not, I’ll be looking for others though it seems speedy ones will be annoying for some time but if I managed to kill one I might be able to get her.”

“Let’s hope for that. For now, I’d recommend building up your influence across Italy, gather the retainers and then hunt the Heretic Gods… and prevent more places from being broken. These damages will cost quite the amount of money.”

“The destruction is not my problem. All I care for is killing the Heretic God, it’s either them or me.”

“I suppose I should’ve seen that coming.” He sighed. “Anyway, shall we retreat to my abode for now?”

“For now yes. I need to think something over.”

The birds chirped, the wind blew, the vehicles passed by. The sky was a clear azure blue, with spots of white clouds littering it. The ancient paladin, having departed from the crusades, found himself facing long and tall structures that led up towards said sky, roads that were distinctive compared to what he was used to, and people using transports that weren’t horses and carriages.

From his view, he could see the Roman Colosseum some distance away. It was as if he had visited a whole new world, and this was the only structure he could recognize as something from the old age, even if it was his first time seeing it—the architecture was reminiscent enough.

“What in blazes—”

The Paladin, hair white as snow and eyes as pure and blue as the sky, was bewildered. Just a moment ago, he was conversing with one of many of his comrades of the Crusades. He recalled castles, and horses, and carriages, and the Roman Colosseum, completely whole. If his memory had not failed him yet, he was positive that he was at the late twelfth century, specifically, eight years remained till the birth of the thirteenth century.

He found himself in that year no longer.

“What manner of mess hath I found mineself in now?”

The Crusader’s gaze was diverged to a group of passerby people, tourists by the look of it—not that he’d know anything about such a pastime. In his natural knightly manner, he approached them, halting their lot with a hand held up at them.

“Pardon citizens, couldst thou offer this weary knight assistance? I seemed to have stumbled into an unknown world,” he said.

“Huh?”

“What is this guy, a cosplayer?”

“Just a weirdo from the looks of it.”

“Maybe a LARPer?”

“Good act!”

The boys and girls laughed among themselves and walked away.

The Knight was even more confused. A visible angular look of vex was showcased on his expression.

“Act…? Cos...player? I will not even try to pronounce the last few…”

Such strange words, and to use on a Knight of all people! In the Crusade a commoner would not dare speak out of turn towards a Templar.

A cold sweat ran down the man’s forehead.

“What sort of hellish world is this…?”

“You do not look as though you’re from around here,” a woman said. Her most notable feature was her platinum blonde hair. Her right eye was covered in a rose-like eyepatch, and she wore a silver one-piece, something that was odd to the paladin.

It was likely odd to anyone, especially with that kind of an eyepatch.

“Ah, thank the Maker. Some assistance.” A sigh unrolled into the air from the Knight as he turned to the woman. “Thou art the first to ask. No, I am not from here. I seemed to have been cast from my world and found myself in some sort of parallel universe where children would dare not respect the presence of a Knight Templar, and women would don such scandalous attire.”

“Scandalous? This is but normal according to my Elder Sister… is that what a God should be saying?” Is it even possible for a Knight Templar to be incarnated as a Heretic God…?

“A God?” The man glanced left and right before returning to the woman. “Thou wouldst not be referring to me, no?”

“Well, you speak like one.”

Behind her casual voice the knight could sense slight hostility, likely due to him being suspected as a Heretic God.

“Trust me, if I were a God, I wouldst not be so confused. I am but a mere Paladin.” He crossed his arms, allowing his brows to furrow.

“A mere Paladin… no Paladin I met spoke like you, though.”

“Strange. How could that be? It is commonplace for one to speak in such a manner. What kind of world is this?”

The woman only narrowed her left eye. “This is Rome, just so you know.”

The man was visibly unsettled. “R-Rome, you said?”

“Mhm, see that over there?” The woman pointed to an ancient structure. “That’s the Roman Colosseum that has been preserved for centuries.”

“I know that much, now. But that does not explain why all is so… strange. In mine own world, there were people who would at least straighten their own posture at a Knight Templar… now, they only laugh.”

“You, a Knight Templar? Well, the Knights Templar ceased to exist centuries ago…”

“Pardon? Art thou japing with me? I know that we’re at a small decline, but his Highness, King Richard of England had just succeeded the late King Henry the Second—rest his soul.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about anymore… currently, the Mage’s Associations of knightly order in Europe are said to descend from the Knights Templar.”

Caim was then showing clear distress. His head was starting to hurt from what he was hearing. “Descend… centuries…” he repeated these words with a shiver in his voice.

He suddenly grabbed the woman by the shoulders, and shook her.

“I beseech thee, tell me what year this is.”

“…There is still a man on earth who doesn’t know that it’s the twenty-first century?”

“Twenty-first… Impossible!”

“Mnm… maybe my Elder Sister would know what to do.”

“Wouldst she have any knowledge of my predicament?”

The lady gave a nod. “My Elder Sister knows many things. She is a very respectable individual.”

“I see. Then if thou art to assist me, then I ask of thy name.”

“Marina Odetta is my name. And you, fellow Paladin?”

“Caim Gabriel Josiah Graves—Paladin of Decimus.” The Knight bowed to the other woman.

Decimus… “Alright, follow me.”

The wonders of advanced civilization only dawned upon the Paladin as he was soon guided to a hotel. From the doors that opened automatically when approached, to the air conditioned space inside and the soft and smooth couches, the future didn’t cease to surprise him. All the while, he was getting strange looks from the pedestrians and the hotel staff as he donned his armor and tunic.

“You wait here,” Marina said, getting the Paladin to sit down on a couch in the lobby area of the hotel. “I’ll get my Elder Sister.”

“Thou have mine thanks for this, Marina. Perhaps I’ll make sense of this, then.”

As Caim took his seat, he marveled at how soft the couch was. Actually, the entire room was enough to get a worthwhile glance from the Paladin.

Soon, the elevator let out a ding and the doors parted. He saw it first part when he witnessed Marina enter the box, now it showed Marina with another individual, donning a long white and risque dress. As the lady took leisurely steps to approach him with Marina—who now looked much different in her air somehow—he noted the type of powerful individual he was meeting.

Was it a curse or a blessing?

The lady’s hair was straight, long, silky, and blonde. Her facial features were anything unlike what he witnessed before in his entire life—an unearthly beauty who walked the earth, surpassing any sculpted works of the ages past. He also noted the magical power that surrounded her, something that was invisible to the mortals around them, but he could feel it. The azure eyes seemed to gaze at the depths of his soul, shining—it was like a calm clear lake.

A regal beauty who held graceful airs—how could these two be sisters to begin with?

As if he wasn’t already vexed enough, Caim nearly fell out of his seat upon laying eyes on this woman. Of course, he suppressed such an uncouth reaction and merely sat up straight. Was she a maiden? The atmosphere around her changed as if that were so.

He coughed into his hand before speaking. “G-Greetings, I am Paladin Caim. I was told by thine sister that thou may assist me with my issue?”

“Oh, thou speaketh in Old English? Such rare coincidence. I am delighted to meet thee, Paladin Caim, I am Gloria Odetta, the Campione ruling over Europe.”

Caim let out a sigh of relief as his familiar tongue was heard from another. “At last, another who doth speaks the King’s English,” he huffed. “It be a pleasure, Gloria Odetta. It doth also be a privilege to be in the presence of another Campione.”

“I am but a member of mankind predating the nineteenth century when the modern English was only taking shape. I hear thou hold a plight great to warrant mine counsel?”

“Verily,” Caim answered as his expression darkened with dread. “According to thine sibling, I hath found mineself in the twenty-first century, where I was last thought to be in times of the Third Crusade.”

“The Crusades… the days of Marquess Decimus, yes?”

“Yes… my late Master, God rest his soul.”

“Mn, removed from thy fate of the crusades, what shall ye do in this advanced world now?”

“I know not. Sudden, it was, to be placed here. And I hath no reason for such. In a new world—nay, a new time—I am completely lost, and ask thy guidance.”

Her smile encompassed calm and composure, but it also gave away the grace of kindness and wisdom.

“Thou appeareth to possess so much time now—removed from thine olden responsibilities. Why not partake in a venture, and look for thy purpose in the new world? Thou may yet find for thyself a new master to guide into this treacherous world.”

“But where would I mayest find another Campione in this world?”

“Ufufu, seven Kings exist today and one is said to hath been born a moon or so ago in this country.”

“I see. So mayhaps somewhere here is where my destination lies.” Caim stood from his seat and turned to Gloria with a resolute yet serious gaze. “Alright, Marina, Gloria. I shalt set out for mine new Master. May the stars bring us to meet again.”

“If thou art ever confounded, visit a chapter of the Capital of Lilies, the Aegis, or the Snow Rose, all of whom are Mage’s Associations under mine patronage across these fair lands, the fellow mages may aid thee in thy ventures to mete out the bewildering aspects of this world.”

“I wilt do that first, in that case. At least I shalt have a bead on the Campione’s whereabouts.”

“That is good to hear. I wish thee luck, Paladin of yore.”

After Caim exited the hotel, he roamed the city randomly. He might’ve said that he’d go to the headquarters or chapters of the organizations—Snow Rose, Capital of Lilies, and Aegis—but even then, he didn’t really know where they were. He found himself in a shopping district instead.

He sat by at the nearest wall, watching stoically as people walked by, sojourning the different stores, going about their lives like normal. While the attire and mannerisms of the somewhat civilized people of this age differed from his own, at least the way they would walk through the street, purchasing a variety of food to clothes, to other personal items, had not changed from his time.

“However, it changeth naught. Nostalgia remains clear in my own mind,” he said to himself. “Whatever has brought me here to this time, clearly it was no random act of fate. Once I locate the organizations, it all shalt become clear.”

Suddenly, he noticed how much he was sweating. He looked up, the sun appeared somehow larger than usual, and its scorching heat felt as though it was cooking him literally.

With a hand held up towards his face to shield himself from the burning embrace of the overhead star, Caim winced. “What on earth...? God, art thou playing tricks on me?”

In this sun, Caim could see a spot of black. He narrowed his eyes and with the sun nearly burning his vision, he finally noted a human figure floating so high up in the sky, it was hard to discern his form.

The Paladin’s eyes squinted to sift through the beams of the sun to see the figure much clearer. There were a few things he experienced today in order to make him believe he had finally lost his mind; this was one of those things.

Of course, the Knight was no loon as far as he could tell.

“What in literal blazes am I gazing upon?”

The size of the sun seemed to enlarge just a little. He could feel the level of heat rise, his sweat seemingly pooling beneath him now. Immediately, he noticed that everyone retreated from the streets fearing this level of heat—the shopping district was instantly deserted.

Caim also retreated to the smallest glimpse of shade he could find. Judging by how the civilians had just fled, this was certainly no lapse in crazy weather. Something was deathly wrong. As the Knight Templar he was sworn to be, he stepped out of the shade to investigate after a moment to catch his breath. He peered up at the sun, ignoring the heat with gritted teeth, his hand itching to grab for his blade.

Soon, he saw a smaller bead of light descend from the sun, slowly coming down to the city far away.

“What manner of object could that be?!”

A new wave of heat descended soon and Caim felt it hard despite being in the shade. Magic sparsely blanketed the area subsequently.

Caim’s teeth grit. How could the fool not have recognized it before? The signs were all in his face and yet, the answer had not made itself clear until now. In that instant, he drew his sword from the scabbard along his back and held it at the ready. With hasteful, labored steps, he drew closer towards the anomaly and cursed it’s name—or rather, title—under his breath.

“Bloody Heretic Gods…”

Soon, he found himself approaching a park, a kind of place he wasn’t familiar with. The playground for the children appeared to be a foreign sight. However, what was important was the orb of light that landed upon the land before him. Its radiance hot and bright as the sun itself, Caim was forced to put a hand before his eyes in reflex.

“Thou cometh to welcome me, mortal? I applaud thy devout nature!”

“I welcome thee with a blade, demon.” Caim raised his towering sword towards the Heretic God, while shielding his own gaze with his other hand. He could not see much, but he was positive that a blight was in front of him and needed to be purged. “I applaud thy ability to keep this heat up for long. Soon enough thou might melt through the world’s face if thee wouldst stand there for so long.”

“Indeed! And that shall prove mine dominance over the mortals, for I am the all-seeing Sol! The light of the sun itself!”

“For truth? I hath not heard of thee,” Caim said curtly.

“Then let it be burned into thy memory!”

Solar flares flew out of the sphere that was Sol and blasted upon the spot where he stood previously, as Caim leapt in response. The wave of heat almost seemed as though it was melting his armor from the resulting explosion, and he lost his balance from the sheer force.

The one in grey armor came to a complete stop after landing, shooting the Heretic God a look of disdain from afar after reeling from the burns.

“Hmph.” He raised his sword again. “Heretic God, Sol. What is it thou hoped to accomplish here? Thou had already ruined a couple family outings and picnics with your blasted heat. I daresay, thou willn’t do much else.”

“That is but the beginning of mine dominion, for mine rays shall soon encompass the world whole!”

Caim had gone completely silent. Such talk of world destruction did not sit so well with him.

Holding the hilt of his blade pointed towards the ground, he recited words of a language long presumed dead in this timeline.

“Hear the sorrow of David, people! Alas, may the heroes fall! Alas, may the weapons of war be destroyed! O' mountains of Gilboa, I pray that dew and rain will not fall upon your peaks! I pray that your lands grow infertile, unable to flourish! There, the shield of the hero was cast away! The shield of Saul, unpolished with oil, was cast away over yonder!”

“Hoh, thou employing the arts of Hermes against mineself? I shall welcome thee to try!”

“Undrinking blood of murderers, the unretreating bow of Jonathan! Unconsuming oil of the brave soul, returning the sword of Saul in vain! Alas, the heroes, fallen in the midst of battle! O' bow of Jonathan, with eagle's swiftness and lion's strength, a hero's weapon. Go forth in assault, upon my fleeing enemies!”

With a light not as incandescent as the one wrought by the Heretic God, but bright no less, a bow seemed to replace the sword in his hand in a matter of seconds.

He aimed the bow, priming one of his arrows for a volley, but the Knight’s wishes were declined as the sun burned them each to a crisp just as they were loosed.

The God’s eyes shone as bright as the sun, rays that almost blinded the Paladin. He laughed. “Is that all thou mayest offer for a greeting? I am disappointed, mortal!”

“Fret not. I hath a more suitable welcome prepared for thine ilk.”

“Oh? I wouldst test thou, thence!” Orbs of flames formed across the field, all swathing down upon the Paladin.

As Caim simply placed his sword in front of him, the fireballs extinguished themselves upon clashing with the steel surface. Peeking from the side of his blade, the Paladin gained a confident smirk.

“Thou art surely impressive, but… not enough!”

The flames that were thought to be extinguished upon contact with the blade soon reignited and exploded upon Caim, the force blowing him away.

Sliding along the ground with gritted teeth, the Knight soon dropped his smirk and and scoffed. Once his footing returned, he retreated back to a fighting pose, taking up the disposition of a warrior, fired up for battle, despite that stoic look he shot towards the Heretic God.

“Thou shalt fall here…”

Showers of flames descended, Caim found himself back against the earth again—burning the pastures and greeneries—the Heretic God only staring him down with what appeared to be boredom. As Caim picked himself up once more, he found the figure of Marina before him, holding up what appeared to be a double-edged blade.

“Lady Marina…” The Knight was no doubt startled to see her here all of a sudden. “Thou must leave, t’is not safe here.”

“That shall be my line, fellow Paladin!” Marina exclaimed.

It was then that Caim saw a figure striding by him. The white risque dress was unmistakable, the True Queen—the Campione he met earlier—was here. Marina bowed to her, placing a hand on her heart as her mistress descended upon the battlefield. Caim noted a staircase of ice behind the Devil King, from which she appeared. They vanished momentarily.

The Campione of the west felt energy flowing through her body at the presence of a Heretic God, an instinctive response that informed her that this individual was a God, and not a mere mortal.

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPZUPVIGQP0)

“Art thou well?” the True Queen asked Caim, examining his state from the corner of her eyes. He could see the azure shine in her eyes, a sign of power of an extraordinarily strong Campione.

“My body is burning, yet in reality, t’is not, and I have been tossed about a few times without this heathen breaking a sweat. If I were to tell you that I have fared well, it wouldst be a fib,” Caim replied, sardonically, panting as hard as his lungs would allow. Sarcasm aside, he truly did feel like he was on fire.

A golden lance formed and the True Queen grasped it. An azure aura cradled her form and thus she recited:

“With these Words of Power I bring forth the light of holy justice upon this world! Powerful and eloquent are these words of mine—for the chant of victory shall resound across the field of battle! Let the gale of victory heal the perilous wave of the dark!”

The True Queen thus stabbed the lance against the earth, and a terse breeze blew against Caim’s body. At that moment, an orange hue that looked like the flames he was showered in earlier was blown away into the wind, and he felt his body cool down remarkably.

A sigh of relief left the Paladin’s lungs and he stood to his feet, an internal statement about condemning fire for the remainder of his life passing by the weary Knight’s mind.

“Thou have my thanks, Lady Gloria. Lady Marina.” Caim bowed respectfully to both ladies before hefting up his sword. “Now, might we bring this Heretic to rout?”

“The task of you both shall be to veil me with protection from interruptions,” Gloria said as she looked up to the God.

“Understood, my Lady,” Marina said with a nod.

“Right.” Caim turned towards Sol, glaring. “What mayest thou be planning?”

“Let the chariot that sails upon the boundless heavens come forth!” the Heretic God chanted. The sun shone brighter and a flaming chariot, drawn by four ethereal steeds descended upon the earth.

“O steed that moveth with grace and poise otherworldly, I beckon thee to be the bringer of mine solace!” the True Queen chanted in return.

A winged horse with eight-legs formed. It was the mythical creature Sleipnir, and the True Queen mounted it, letting her legs hang to the right. Marina got up momentarily, pulling Caim along with him.

“Hold tight,” the female Paladin told him.

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9j1z430_qo)

The Sleipnir thus took to the skies with incredible speed, while the chariot razed the earth at the same time—a large circular ball of fire was apparent below them as the explosion took place. In but a matter of moments they were in the realm of the white clouds that hung adrift the air. With a neigh, the steed galloped across the air as Gloria pulled on its heavenly reins as if it was walking on air—moving forwards as the chariot rushed out of the explosion, pursuing them.

“I do not intend to be the bearer of unfortunate news, but I believe the Heretic God is right behind us,” Caim commented, daring not to look down below them. As if he had finally calmed down from the flames, he was now freaking out from the height where Gloria had taken them.

“My Lady!” Marina cried out as she confirmed it after listening to Caim.

“His arrogance blinds him,” the True Queen said, a mirthful expression gracing her features.

She mounted the lance upon her arm and threw it with extremely calculated precision—the lance piercing the chariot and sending it down to the earth, inciting another explosion of Divine energy. It was no ordinary explosion, for it destroyed Villa Celimontana that laid below them almost entirely.

“Just running away is enough not to defeat me, the mighty Sol!” the Heretic God preached from the earth, his voice leading up to them in the clouds in some miraculous way.

“So it is coming…”

“O glorious Sun! I am the titan Helios—the all-seeing! Hear my summons and grant upon the earth the scorching rays that may cleanse all darkness and shadows. Let mine rays’ shine be filled with such luster that the Underworld shall experience a true morn for the ages to come!”

From the sky they saw the sun let out fearsome rays that trembled and descended. The temperatures spiking. Caim knew that if the rays of the sun hit them directly, they’d be melted with nary a trace of them left.

“Tch… he doth not yield will he…” Caim said with a click of his tongue, his now-sweaty palms clenching onto whatever would help him feel stable. “E-Easy, m’lady! We’ll simply be destroyed like this!”

“†˜Tis boring if we are indeed on the fleeing end. Worry not, ye shalt not melt under mine shroud.” Saint Gloria looked up to the blazing sunlight with what appeared to be a majestically calm expression. Indeed, she possessed the valiance and solemnity of a lioness, even in the face of this calamity. Such was the resilience of an acknowledged Campione that had treaded upon the earth for many years.

While her tone was comforting, logic wouldn’t allow Caim to take Gloria’s word for it. “Somehow, being in a situation such as this, I cannot accept that without proof,” he japed, sort of.

“Trust me when I say this, the True Queen is nearly a peerless foe for any,” Marina said as if boasting, her face smug despite the fact that she was sweating.

“Well, I shalt giveth thee the benefit of the doubt. I assume Lady Gloria would lack the nomenclature if not for her skill, yes?”

The Sleipnir thus stopped in the air and Gloria faced the raging flames, she sang a harmonious song, reciting the spell words:

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16NGUjccWdo)

“O bringer of glory, let thine shield of gold carve the name of mine foe upon it—in honor of the defeat I shall reap upon them! For all beings of evil fear me, for all bringers of injustice burn before mine gaze, there may be none that may pierce this impenetrable aegis that protected even the mighty God of the Skies, Zeus!”

A golden shield formed that the True Queen held with her left hand. The rays of the sun clashed fiercely, the violent rays pushing them downwards. The stallion neighed in pain and heat.

The two companions of the Campione shouted from panic despite their reassurances, the scorching heat raining down on them at the same time. A name was slowly forming with a red glow as the rays of the sun were blocked by the aegis of Victoria. Eventually, the rays subsided, and the three were well still, if not for feeling burnt from the heat.

“I would not gainsay that no more sun is required for this weary Knight,” Caim remarked, his entire body soaked from under his armor and tunic. “How doth thee fare, ladies?”

“I am fine… somewhat.”

“Mm?”

While Marina’s face was full of sweat, Gloria seemed to be completely unphased, her face bearing no sign of sweat whatsoever. It was as though she felt nothing from the shower of rays just now.

Caim couldn’t help but close his eyes and smile. Such a display from Gloria left him impressed. “Campione, I sweareth…”

“Is something the matter?” the Campione asked, blinking.

“No, nothing. Just marveling at how little thou were affected by the sun, as well as keeping thy composure through the battle. T’is something I had not seen in a long time… since Decimus.” Caim looked to Marina and nodded. “A fine master thou possesseth.”

Before Marina could respond, she saw the golden lance materialize upon Gloria’s hand once more, the Campione brandishing it.

“Now, thou shalt be the one to receive mine wrath.”

Gloria threw the lance again, this time at Sol. The speed at which it was traveling was so fast that Sol barely have the time to react. This was hardly the distance of twenty meters, or thirty, for that instance. Nay, this lance crossed hundreds of meters down to the earth in but sparse moments!

The Heretic God let flames out of his mouth, but the lance pierced through them, displaying Divine resilience before it pierced his shining eye, inciting another blast of power, this time completely ruining the earth that supported the villa. The earth caved in but Helios remained—floating in the air.

“Do not think thou hath won! I shall recover, and shalt challenge thee once more!” Sol’s voice echoed across the sky, but they could see him on the earth no more.

“It appears he ran away… that’s a first,” Marina commented, sighing.

“Finally. A persistent one he is, no?”

“Not enough persistence he possesseth to face me till the end. This is a problem, a God hath escaped mine hunting grounds…” Gloria said, seemingly downcast. Indeed, she couldn’t sense his presence across her lands.

“With how aptly he spoke, I am almost certain that he willeth return, eager to battle thee once more. And once again, thou wilt crush him. Until his will breaks. Simple as that,” Caim said stoically, with a stern look coming from him. Apparently that was his special way of comforting others. In his elitist, blunt, special way.

“No, I shall give chase to the Heretic God— chase him out of this world forevermore,” the True Queen declared, her tone changed as she continued, “Thence I shall make way to the land of Yamato, for the Heretic God hath departed to the east.”

“Err, my Lady… that is the domain of the Cursed King…”

“I am aware.” A candid smile blossomed upon the European Saint’s face. “I shall pay my old rival a visit.”

Marina made a wry smile, foretelling all kinds of coming disasters from her mistress’ leisurely decisions made on the spot.

“Let us hope my Lady does not raze his land once more…”

“Aw, you worry overmuch, Marina.”

“I have to, who else will?”

“Now, now, it shall be a friendly visit, I shall only pursue Helios of the sun.”

The Sleipnir was soon brought down to the earth while they conversed. As soon as it touched the land, the mythical creatures burst into dusts of magic and vanished, the three dismounting the steed.

After clapping the dust from the surface of his armor, Caim sighed. “I feel like even going there mayest raise more conflict from… The Cursed King thou called him?”

“Mnm, that would be interesting in its own way,” Gloria considered.

“My Lady!” Marina scolded.

“I was making a jest—a jest!” the Campione replied in haste.

Caim chuckled quietly. “So, this Cursed King thou refereth to. Who is he?”

“The Campione of the East, a fearsome foe who had liveth over three-hundred years.”

“East… I hath never visited there in the time of the Crusade before. I am almost glad we are going there now.”

“We?” Marina said confusedly.

“Is that not where Lady Gloria intends?” Caim said with a raised brow.

“Yes, but you were supposed to part and visit the other Mage’s Associations, right?”

“I don’t know. At this point, I am more interested in where she is going. Perhaps I can put it off for now.”

“Even if you say that now…”

“Now, now, I am sure he could be of help to us. He is a Paladin after all, mages such as either of you are very rare,” the True Queen said.

The Knight gave a pleased smirk. “I am pleased thou wouldst allow me to join thee, Lady Gloria. Thou won't be disappointed.”

“Even if he wants to go there, though… he can’t, my Lady.”

“Oh, that is true, is it not? I forgot our private jet is currently unavailable… I suppose for now thou shalt remain in a hotel room.”

“Ho...tel?” The white haired Paladin scratched the back of his head.

“Yes, the establishment where we met. Since thou possesseth not a passport, thou may not travel overseas, such are the laws that bound the current realm.”

“Passp—hold a moment.” With their current world laws, and the knight having to just stumble upon them, Caim’s brain was probably fried by now. “Thou needeth this… passport to attain access to yonder countries? I almost miss the Crusades dearly.”

“Indeed, the countries all have defined borders now, and it’s no longer the age of conquering, I’m afraid,” Marina explained. “You need to travel by air or by sea but the passport is required either way, otherwise the security would just throw you back.”

“Technically, since thou lacketh an identity in this world officially, it may be difficult to live without persons such as myself supporting thee.”

The Knight silently grew pale. He was already exhausted. “This world is... chaotic...”

“I’d rather say it’s orderly now, you can no longer just barge into foreign territory,” Marina said.

“I must say, it may take me a little while before getting used to that. Considering how my time’s ways are… outdated compared to yours, I mayeth need to attain this… identity?” Caim asked.

“It’d be difficult. We assume that you had a live from childhood in this world. Making a passport means they’d ask a bunch of questions about your past… you’d likely have to lie.”

“Lovely, and I wouldn’t know the first thing about this time’s customs, so that will not be an option unless, through some sort of magical means, I mayest obtain knowledge of this time, country, and above yonder.”

“That would require you to take days to study, and even then, one would be required to supplement the proper books and materials.”

“I know, it was a jest. T’would be impossible even if I were to start this moment,” Caim replied. “So what shalt we do of this situation?”

“As our Lady suggested, take you to the hotel for now. I suppose that’d be your temporary abode. After that, you’d have to wait for us to return from the east. There is no library over there so maybe checking the T.V. would help.”

Caim’s expression blossomed with confusion yet again. The urge to question these items and devices Marina was naming left him in shambles. To preserve what was left of his mind, he just nodded in affirm. “Very well, then.”

“Worry not, young Paladin,” the True Queen said with a soothing tone of voice. “Mine Sister shall show thee what she spake of in time.”

“I look forward to it, Lady Gloria,” Caim said with a smirk.