"Hahaha! Come on out, Number Eight! Let’s have ourselves a bout!"
Accompanied by Salvatore Doni’s boisterous shout, a silver flash erupted from the massive greatsword slung over his shoulder, slicing through the hotel’s outer wall as if it were a cheap toy. Concrete and rebar were shredded like wet paper, cascading down onto the nighttime streets below.
"W-What?! Is that guy insane?!"
Kusanagi Godo scrambled across the floor, staring in pure horror at the surreal destruction unfolding outside the window. To the tune of jovial laughter, the man wielding the blade flicked his wrist with effortless grace; each motion saw the asphalt ground sliced like silken tofu and streetlamps bent like soft taffy.
"Less 'insane' and more… a man who possesses a truly singular love for the blade and the theater of war."
Erica replied with cold composure as she drew her beloved sword, Cuore di Leone, from her hip. Her blue eyes sparkled despite the mounting trouble, as if she had finally encountered a hunt worth her time.
"The Sixth King, Sir Salvatore Doni. The 'King of Swords' and the Campione with the most absolute mastery of swordsmanship on this earth. He is a battle-maniac who lives only for the thrill of a fight against the strong. And right now, Godo, his eyes are fixed squarely on the newly born 'you'."
"I told you, I don't want to fight!"
"That is your concern, not his. He intends to dismantle this city like a sandbox until you decide to show your face. What will it be, Godo? Will you simply turn a blind eye to this catastrophe as a King?"
Godo bit his lip at Erica’s provocative questioning. He didn't want to fight. He didn't want to be a King. But he couldn't just stand by while a city was leveled and innocent people were caught in the crossfire because of him. Something inside him—the final lingering attachment of the ordinary high schooler Kusanagi Godo—snapped.
"…Fine! I'm going out there! Happy?!"
With a hardened resolve, Godo hauled himself up. From his body, a colossal surge of magical power—an essence he still had no hope of controlling—began to hemorrhage into the atmosphere.
Under the Sardinian night sky, the clash between two Kings commenced.
"Thus didst thou break the covenant and bring evil unto the world. The Lord hath spoken: deliver judgment unto the sinner. Shatter the spine, excise the bone, the hair, even the marrow of the brain, and trample them into the blood and mire. For I am sharp and difficult to approach; through the Word of the Lord, I shall bring thy ruin!"
At Godo's shout, the earth groaned as a massive Divine Beast was summoned forth. A manifestation of pure destruction with a hide of jet-black steel and eyes of molten flame. The Boar roared, pulverizing the asphalt as it charged toward Doni. For a normal mage, the sheer pressure of such a gallop would have been enough to induce total mental collapse.
But Doni did not retreat. Just before the Boar’s tusks could pierce his flesh, he twisted his body with the fluidity of a running stream, deflecting the impact and instead leaping lightly onto the Divine Beast's back.
"Haha! You’ve certainly got some power behind you!"
Perched atop the Boar, he swung his blade toward Godo, who was standing behind the creature. Godo recoiled in shock, instinctively realizing that a mere summon would not be enough to handle this swordsman.
Damn it, the Boar isn't working!
"Boar! Shake him off and attack again!"
In response to Godo’s command, the Boar unleashed a massive shockwave from its maw, a chaotic blast of force that threatened to detonate the very space they occupied.
"KUROOOOOOOOOO!"
"Whoa!"
The impact sent Doni sliding forward, tumbling from the Boar's back onto the pavement, where the beast's hind legs lashed out in a crushing kick.
KREEEEEEEING!
However, that was not the sound of a hoof hitting flesh. It was the heavy, metallic ring of an impact against tempered steel. Doni’s body was flung dozens of meters, crashing into a weathered building with such force that the entire structure collapsed into ruins.
Then, accompanied once again by a boisterous laugh, a figure vaulted out of the rubble, chanting a profane incantation aimed directly at the Boar.
"Hahahaha! Hereby do I swear. I shall not permit the existence of anything I cannot cut. This blade is the invincible sword that shall sunder and cleave all that exists on this earth!"
A massive greatsword—at least five meters in length—slashed through the Boar. The Divine Beast dissolved instantly into a black mist and vanished into nothingness.
"The Boar is…"
Godo stumbled back to maintain distance and chanted another sacred verse.
"For I am the strongest, the one who grasps every victory. I am the one who breaks all foes and all hostility, be they man or demon. Thus, I shall crush all enemies who stand before me!"
This time, the phantom of a gargantuan Bull manifested within his body. It was an Authority that enhanced his physical capabilities with explosive, monstrous strength. As his muscles screamed and swelled with power, Godo kicked off the ground and lunged directly at Doni.
But Doni was still laughing. He lowered his sword as the punch approached, leaving himself wide open to take Godo's fist directly against his torso.
BOOM!
The punch, imbued with the Bull's power, elicited only a heavy resonance from Doni's body. It was as if Godo had struck a solid block of enchanted steel; Doni sustained zero damage. Instead, Godo clutched his own hand, letting out a short cry of pain.
"Gah! He’s too hard! What the hell is your body made of?!"
"Ah, it’s nothing special. Just an Authority that hardens my body. Most strikes are useless against me. Hahahaha! But you shouldn’t leave yourself so open."
With those words, Doni raised his sword arm, coming down in a strike meant to cleave Godo in two. Godo’s instincts screamed in warning. He immediately swapped the Bull for the Authority of the Phoenix, which granted him divine speed.
"Fear the one with wings. Whether thou art wicked or powerful, fear me, for I possess the wings! My wings shall bring down the retribution of a curse upon thee! The wicked shall never strike me!"
In a split second, the world slowed to a crawl and stained gray. The swinging blade grazed the tip of Godo's nose by a hair's breadth. Using a backstep, Godo cleared more than twenty meters in an eye-blink.
"Pant… pant…"
His breath was ragged, and a trickle of crimson blood ran down his cheek—evidently, he hadn't escaped completely unscathed.
He's strong…! He's ridiculously strong!
"That’s impressive! Escaping the reach of my blade at that moment! That speed is quite something. Reminds me of a certain fellow in England who’s always wrapped in lightning. Hahahahaha!"
Godo finally understood the gap between him and the Sixth Campione, Salvatore Doni. It was an overwhelming disparity in 'stature,' entirely different from a fight against a god. Every one of his attacks was either blocked or neutralized, while even a glancing blow from the other side felt like it would shatter his bones.
Just then, Erica’s voice rang out, magically amplified.
"Godo! Power alone isn't enough! He is the King of Swords! Think of your other powers! Verethragna wasn't just a god of brute force!"
Erica's shout brought Godo back to his senses. She was right. There were still other Authorities he had usurped from Verethragna.
The Golden Sword… but that requires knowledge of the god… Should I retreat for now? I don't know anything about the gods he killed!
While he hesitated, Doni's sword swept toward his throat once more.
"Now then, let's finish the warm-up, shall we?"
Doni adjusted his grip on the sword, drawing out his Authority and chanting the holy verse again.
"Hereby do I swear. I shall not permit the existence of anything I cannot cut! This blade is the invincible sword that shall sunder and cleave all that exists on this earth!"
As he recited the verse, the massive greatsword began to glow with a chilling silver light. A crushing pressure filled the air, as if space itself was bowing to his will and rewriting itself into a concept of 'that which is cut.' Godo sensed his own death. In that instant, Verethragna’s knowledge flooded into his mind like a tidal wave. Not just strength or speed, but the power of the sun.
"Come to my side, for the sake of victory! O immortal Sun, grant me the shining steed to gallop for my cause! O swift and mystical horse, bring forth the halo that is thy master!"
With Godo's roar, a sun rose in the middle of the dead-of-night sky, and a torrent of light poured down. Amidst the radiance, the form of the White Horse—galloping with a mane of solar flares—appeared. It collided head-on with Doni’s blade, causing the local temperature to skyrocket as a scorching solar flare swept the area.
KRA-BOOOOOOOOM—!
A gargantuan storm of fire painted the surroundings, illuminating the city night as brightly as high noon.
At the same time, inside a private jet entering Italian airspace.
I leaned back in my seat, watching the battlefield in real-time through a crystal ball Alice had linked for me. Outside the window, the night view of Sardinia glittered like distant points of light.
"So that is the Authority of Verethragna…"
I muttered under my breath. The white flames reflected in the crystal ball swirled, and shortly after, the feed cut out.
"Alessandro."
"Yes, my Lord."
"What is your assessment of that boy?"
At my question, Alessandro, standing behind me, fell into deep thought before offering a cold evaluation.
"Dangerous. To push the King of Swords to such an extent already is quite the feat. However, his method of utilizing his Authorities is like that of a child playing with dangerous toys."
His assessment was accurate. An Authority with such varied transformations possessed a versatility similar to Smith’s 'Metamorphoses' I had heard stories about.
"My Lord, we likely need not worry about the life of Sir Salvatore Doni. However, confirming the survival of Kusanagi Godo, the newly born Eighth King, may be difficult after such a clash. How shall we proceed?"
"He won't have died from just that. Our kind are incredibly resilient. I can vouch for that after all the battles I've survived. For now, our priority is to make contact with this Eighth King."
Alessandro nodded at my words, and I returned my gaze to the cloud-filled night sky through the window.
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