Disclaimer: Campione! was written by Taketsuki Jou, I get nothing out of writing this fanfic save personal satisfaction (and possibly reviews).

Author's Notes: I was a little sad that last chapter's review count suddenly plunged. But I expected that since it was an insert. Still I think I'm almost getting a good feel of my readers now. I originally intended on having Athena's insert after Shizuka. But after Shizuka's insert, I feel like I should resort to inserts as little as possible. I feel like the next chapter might break the chronology a little. But that's what Author's notes can be for too. (If they're read! XD) .

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This was last Updated/Corrected Jan 10, 2013

- - - 7th - - -

Pet na Campione-sama!

- - - 7th - - -

Chapter Seven: Liliana: "What should I do..."

- - - 7th - - -

After I had tucked Kusanagi Godou into a bed in one of the guest rooms; I headed towards town, leaving Erica to watch over the youngest King. Signora Lucretia had decided to sleep, to recover her magical energy, and left everything else up to us.

Before she slept, she handed us a pair of spare keys to the mansion. Thus I was free to leave the house and purchase supplies for Kusanagi Godou's after battle feast. I had much to buy as most of the things that Signora Lucretia bought for Godou were snacks of little to no nutritional value.

It did not please me that (once again) it was Erica that stood at his side while he slept. But given our skills sets, I suppose it could not be helped.

I did not ask Erica to come with me. Because I did not like the idea of leaving Kusanagi Godou undefended. He might not be our King, but he has saved Sardinia twice in the span of twenty four hours... protecting him while he slept was the least we could do.

The storm that Melqart had summoned was considerably strong, so it was a surprised that the town of Oliena was intact. While Signora Lucretia's home was far away from most of the commune, it wasn't that far. But it seems that most of the power in Melqart's authority had been focused in the vicinity of the mansion. In fact, if the ground had not been wet and giving off the smell of moist dirt, I would have almost thought that the storm earlier didn't happen.

But why did Melqart focus the power of a storm at such a small space? Was Kusanagi Godou that much of a threat?

"Perhaps it was because he didn't have much magical power left to begin with?" I suddenly heard Erica's voice answer the question in my head.

I turned and confirmed that she was right behind me. "Erica!?"

"This is only my speculation though. Since it's only been a few days since the two gods clashed, and Melqart's recovery was gravely hindered when the Goat attacked his swarm of locusts. He could have waited until he recovered completely, but his pride probably had gotten in the way and would not allow him to fight a newly born Campione at full power... Only Heretic Gods and Demon Kings could make such a foolish decision..."

"Forget about that for now! Erica, what are you doing?" I angrily asked.

"What? You ask?" She looked at me as if I had said something wrong. "I'm accompanying you shopping."

"If you're here, then who's watching over Kusanagi Godou then?"

"It's fine, I left an Steel Lion at his side."

A Steel Lion, was a form that Erica could transform her magic sword, Cuore di Leone, into. In this state, it took the form of a animate metal statute that was akin to a familiar. Though nearly lacking in intelligence, it was able to follow simple commands or instructions. Protect this man or this room should be easy enough for it. But against anything that could take on a Campione, the steel lion would be as useful as a paper weight.

"But, what if-"

Erica immediately interrupted me. "Lily, you'll only make us suspicious if you keep shouting."

I realized that I was shouting but could not help grumbling at her accusation. But after I let her words sink in a little, I realized that she was being reasonable.

A moment of silence passed before I decided to ask, "Erica, how did you know that I was thinking of Melqart's tactics?"

"Oh? You didn't notice?" She suddenly looked amused. "You were actually talking out loud the whole way. "

I felt my face redden in shame. To think that I had been so deep in my thoughts that I didn't realize what I was doing.

"I thought you were talking to me at first... But it seems that you didn't even notice me. It's a good thing I was following you. Who knows what you might have obliviously babbled about to yourself."

There was nothing I could say in retort to that. If she had not come along, all an enemy might have needed to do was wait for me to talk about a subject they needed to know.

"To think I would make such a simple mistake..." I was mortified and Erica's next words certainly didn't help.

"Well... don't worry about it, seeing as I'm the only one that heard you."

"Gah!"

Erica showed me that annoyingly haughty smile of hers. I didn't know what was worse. Not realizing that I was talking to myself or owing Erica another favor.

"Well let's go." Erica started walking into town. "We don't know how soon he'll wake up this time."

"You're right." I buried my embarrassment and followed after her.

- - - 7th - - -

A little after we entered the supermarket I noticed that Erica was intently watching everything I did. Each time I picked up an item and checked it price. Each time I compared two of the same kind of product. Each time I checked the quality of a fresh ingredient. Each and every time I choose to put an item into my shopping cart. It did not bother me at first, but it got annoying after ten minutes. So I decided to confront her about it.

"Erica, what are you doing?"

"I'm accompanying you." she answered with a well faked, innocent smile.

"You're starting to bother me, can't you just wait somewhere?"

"And let you go back to babbling to yourself?"

I flinched, but tried not to back down. "It was one time!"

Erica giggled elegantly... it was annoying how well she could do that and how well it suited her (in the bad kind of way). "But seriously, I'm just watching you. You don't have to be so bothered."

"I'm bothered because that's exactly the only thing you're doing. Can't you at least push the cart for me."

"If you insist..."

"I insist!" I strongly voiced as I pushed the cart closer to her. I had hopped that making her do something would incline her to leave, but she didn't.

Erica exaggeratedly raised her hands in resignation and said, "Very well."

And just like that Erica took the handle of the shopping cart from me and allowed me to freely move.

...

A little after that, I noticed that Erica would look at each new thing I brought into the cart. She'd check what it looked like. If it was in a bottle, she'd read the tags and shake it. If it was an unwrapped item, she'd look at it from different angles before giving it a sniff. It got to the point that I started to think if she's suddenly developed insanity.

So once again I decided to ask, "Erica, what are you doing?"

"You keep asking that." Erica started to sound a little defensive.

"I know! But you're starting to drive me crazy!"

Erica almost sighed. "Would you prefer if I made small talk?"

"If you intend on bring up something productive." I declared.

"In that case... I'd like to ask what you plan on doing after this?"

I was still a little agitated and failed to get what she meant bluntly answered, "I intend to return to Signora Lucretia's home and cook."

She audibly sighed, and I immediately got the feeling I said something stupid... but just this once I decided to ignore it and wait for her to clear it up.

"I meant, what do you plan on doing after Godou wakes up?"

I soon realized that she didn't mean the immediate future. She was speaking more abstractly, like before or after Godou returned to Japan.

"I'm... I'm not sure." I answered.

Kusanagi Godou might be a King. But he was 'Not!' my King. Nor was he a King associated to the Bronze Black Cross. Just days ago, he was an odd young man with a gift. He had no connections to any magical associations, and was completely unversed with magic. Still, he managed to kill two gods. I want to see how far he can go. I want to see his path as a king. But what of the Bronze Black Cross... was I ready to throw my connections and all that I've worked hard to achieve? Was I ready to leave Italy and serve Kusanagi Godou, in the land of the rising sun? I had no answers... just more doubts. The temptation was strong, but my roots would not simply allow me to let go.

"What about you, Erica?" I asked, hoping her answer will help me decide.

"Hmm..." She paused for almost half a minute before answering, "I'll go back to the Milan and submit a report, I suppose."

I suddenly felt outraged and yelled, "You're going to betray him?!"

"Not so loud!" Erica too raised her voice, but only loud enough for her tone to sound urgent and reprimanding.

We both looked around and fortunately the market was devoid of customers at the time.

"And it's not betrayal!" She stated, rather offended. "It's not like I work for him. I just happened to have been tricked into accompanying him. I had intended to use his special sight to give me clues as to where Verethragna's Avatars were and pass on that information to the Copper Black Cross. But I had not expected that he'd kill the gods himself."

Erica stated her case. But no matter how true her words were, I couldn't help but feel that she was lying... to me and herself. That's what my instincts told me.

"I see..." However I could not call her on it. No matter how much I wanted to, the words just would not form on my tongue. Because I was on the same boat.

Our time with Kusanagi Godou had been short. With Melqart defeated and the tablet delivered, all that was left for him to do was to recover before taking a plane back to Japan. He was not the easiest person to get to know. Managing him, however, was simple, but hard work. He responded well to food. And unlike Italy's unmanageable idiot king, he did not start fights... although he very decisively ended them. But the fact of the matter was that, neither of us knew Kusanagi Godou well enough to decide our fates.

Perhaps Erica had wanted to talk about this... that would sort of explain why she's being evasive.

I resumed shopping. Erica quietly followed me around... which would have unnerved me (like earlier) had it not been for the previous topic.

It wasn't until after we were done purchasing the groceries that I resolved myself to break the silence.

"Erica," I called for her attention with a serious tone.

"Would you put off making the report until after Kusanagi Godou returns to Japan."

A small smile formed on her face. "I had planned on doing just that."

"I see." I smiled, as some of the weight on my chest was lifted.

- - - 7th - - -

With the grocery bags in our arms, we ducked the cover of an alley and used a mailing spell to send the bags directly to Lucretia's house. Although carrying the bags with magically enhanced strength would have been child's play, it was too conspicuous. Risking a transportation spell in the almost open was the smarter option.

So with our heavy burdens already ahead of us, we semi-leisurely strolled the shops for anything I might have forgotten.

That was when the sight of a phone booth jogged my memory. I had forgotten to call Shizuka!

"Erica, I have to make call."

Erica flashed me her signature teasing smile. "I thought we agreed that we'll wait until he's out of the country?"

"What?!" For a moment I failed to get the meaning of her words, but quickly caught on her meaning. "No! I promised to call his sister."

"I see..." She suddenly looked serious and thought about it for a moment, "Do you really have to?"

"I do. I promised to call her every day. I already broke my promise and forgot to do so yesterday, I do not intend to make it worse."

"Is it worth risking getting traced?"

"I was going to use the pay phone."

Realizing that I've thought it through, Erica permits it. "Very well. Go ahead."

I went into a shop and purchased a phone card. When I returned Erica was waiting beside the phone booth looking at me with a smug smile on her face. But since she usually had that kind of expression, I decided to ignore her for now.

After I had picked up the receiver, I inserted the card into the phone's card slot and dialed Shizuka's cell phone. After a voice recording warned me that I was about to call abroad and of the price per minute, I pressed a number to confirm the call. The phone rang several times, but eventually the call was cut. A small amount was deducted from my phone card's balance and a recording asked me to either try calling again or try the call later. I decided to try the call again, just in case Shizuka had simply missed answering the call. But like the first time, the phone rang multiple times before being disconnected. I replaced the reciever and noticed still smiling at me.

I returned her smile with a glare. "What is it now, Erica?"

I did not think it possible, but her smile only grew wider. "I just realized what time it would be in Japan."

"..." When it became apparent that she wanted me to ask, I decided to let her have this one and did as she wanted. "What time is it there?"

"A little past midnight."

"Damn." It was doubtful that even Shizuka would wait for me to call that late.

A little angry, I glared at her and asked, "And why didn't you tell me sooner?"

And as I expected, Erica answered, "You didn't ask."

- - - 7th - - -

We returned to Lucretia's Mansion soon after Erica and I picked up a few changes of clothes. We couldn't exactly ask Erica's maid to send our bags to us with magic. For two reasons. Reason one, was obviously because we want her to keep thinking that we're missing. And two, she's not very good with magic.

Erica and I were relieved to know that Kusanagi Godou was still safely tucked in bed. The Steel Lion was not triggered and was now retrieved by Erica.

By now it's been five hours since Kusanagi Godou fell over in exhaustion. To our surprise however,

"Erica, Liliana," he called out to us soon after we peeked into the room.

His voice was weak, but he sounded lucid. His face was still very pale, his now opened eyes looked droopy, but he hasn't turned his head to look our way.

"Kusanagi Godou, how do you feel?" I whispered softly as I slowly inched closer to him, just in case he was still actually asleep.

"Hurt." He painfully muttered.

"Hurt? Where does it hurt?" I asked feeling worried.

Kusanagi Godou closed his eyes for a minute, then answered, "... Everywhere."

"Can you sit up?" I had hoped that eating would speed up his healing.

But when he painfuly answered. "No... Can't move." I thought, 'Body Pain and Immobilization?' Were those the price he had to pay for using the authorities he usurped from Verethragna? or was it a side effect of use? A Campione's body was supposed to be more sturdy and tolerant of pain, but I guess there were limits to that as well.

"You can't eat in this condition to recover then..."

"Do not want... eat... Need... sleep." Godou tried his best to speak clearly through the pain.

"Let me guess, you're having trouble sleeping?" Erica interjected.

"Yes."

Erica turns to me, "A witch like Lucretia should have an extensive assortment of ingredients and alchemy reagents. The materials and tools to make a powerful sleeping potion or incense might be available."

"A witch like Lucretia would also booby trap her storage rooms and atelier." I added.

"No doubt. But you forget that she lent us these keys." Erica said as she raised her spare copy of the mansion's key. I didn't notice it earlier, but there were traces of magic in the key's composition. "They're also passes into restricted portions of the house."

"Very well then. Let us see if she has what we'll need."

We left Kusanagi Godou alone for now. Before we left Erica offered to get him something he might want, but he refused asking that we just hurry with the potion instead. It seemed cruel to leave him as unable to fend for himself in his current state, but it also assured us that he would not be wandering off.

- - - 7th - - -

Signora Lucretia's Atelier was quite large and filled with just about every herb, ingredient and reagent we could think of. The items needed to make some of the most powerful sleeping potions know to magic were already waiting on her work table. No doubt when Signora Lucretia readied them for herself. Fortunately for us that in the end (of Kusanagi Godou's battle with Melqart) Signora Lucretia had not needed to make one for herself anymore, but had yet to return the items to their usual storages.

A book on potions had also been left at the pages that contain the sleeping potion recipes. With it as a guide, the brewing of the potion had been as easy as baking a cake.

Erica didn't even bother offering to help me make the potion. Of course I didn't expect her to. She probably would have if she were planning to drinking it herself, but otherwise she's just too lazy to do something someone else (in this case, myself) can do just as well. Instead she looked around the Atelier and kept herself from distracting me.

- - - 7th - - -

I finished the potion in under an hour. The potion looked like an off green colored slime like substance rather than a liquid. But this was its purest form. Normally, it would be diluted and distilled into a colorless and tasteless liquid or into sleeping powder. But the processes to do either would take days and would heavily reduce the potion's effectiveness. Since signora Lucretia had mention, that a Campione was capable of resisting even ingested poisons if they wanted to, the potion will have to be particularly strong to be effective.

With a beaker (half full of the potion) on hand, I stopped by the mansion's kitchen to pick up a spoon and a bottle of water; before heading up to Godou's room.

Once there, I found Erica was already helping Godou sit up.

Erica took great care not to raise him up too quickly. She took her time, especially when Kusanagi Godou's painful hisses turned into groans. And when he was finally half sitting up, she positioned herself at his back, as a makeshift pillow, and allowed his body to rest on her. It annoyed me for some reason. But with no spare pillows or cushions within our reach, I couldn't really say anything about her actions and not sound strange.

So as not to shake the bed, I slowly took my time sliding in.

"Kusanagi Godou, this is a unrefined sleeping potion. It's very potent. However, I cannot assure you about the taste."

"I don't mind." Kusanagi Godou painfully answered.

I scooped up a tablespoon of the gloppy, green potion and offered it to his mouth. He slowly opened his mouth with difficulty, so I wasted no time and quickly fed him the potion (so as not to prolong his suffering). His face cringed. I can only imagine how uncomfortable the slimy potion must have felt on his throat; and with his whole body wracked with pain, swallowing must have been difficult. Then again, it must have tasted as bad as it looked.

"Would you like some water?" I offered the bottled water.

"N-" But before Kusanagi Godou could answer, he quickly fell asleep.

With even greater care we slowly laid him back down on the bed; just in case the pain in his body would be enough to shock him awake.

Both Erica and I sighed with relief after re-tucking Kusanagi Godou in the bed. We slowly got off the bed and left the room in silence.

"What will you do now, Lily?" Erica asked as soon as the door to Kusanagi Godou's room was shut.

"Hmm..." I gave it very little thought. As it was already late, going to town for dinner would take as much time as it would me make it. I was tired, but at this point, I didn't want to go back to town for the third time today. "I suppose I'll get some prep work done and cook dinner for us."

"Sounds good."

I gave her an accusing look. "I assume you'll look around the mansion and find something more interesting to do?"

Erica defensively crossed her arms, but smiled. "You're making it sound like a bad thing, but yes."

"Here." I handed the beaker to her, "At the very least, transfer the potion into a proper container for me."

"That's it?"

"That's all you'll be willing to do right? Besides, I'd rather not use Signora Lucretia's Atelier without her permission anymore than we have to."

"I suppose, that is one of the unspoken rules."

- - - 7th - - -

Since I was only cooking for Erica and myself, I decided to make simple minestrone soup. I served it along with some bread, Foie gras and a light red wine.

"Mmm! This soup is wonderful, Lily. It's light and savory." Erica sounded quite happy with her meal.

"There's no need for flattery." I told her, although I only half meant it. In truth, I did not mind her praising my cooking.

Then, as if to spite me, Erica started a list of minor complaints, but I paid her as little attention as possible and ate my share.

...

Just as we were finishing up, Erica suddenly brought an embarrassing topic out of nowhere.

"Lily, would you have kissed Godou during that battle if Lucretia had not volunteered."

I felt my face flush and instantly looked away from her.

Would I? I like to think that I was a dedicated enough knight that was willing to sacrifice my lips for the safety of the Italy. But when it really came to it, I had easily caved and passed the task to someone more willing. Because in the end, I wanted my first kiss to be with someone I loved. Romantically, Just like any other girl.

But Kusanagi Godou was selflessly fighting for Sardinia. He could have been killed. Or Sardinia could have been lost to the sea. And yet my first kiss mattered more...

The knight in me was appalled.

"No..." I answered, my disgrace apparent in my voice.

"I see..." Erica's lips curled into a soft relieved smile.

"What about you, Erica?"

"Doubtful." She quickly answered. "If I had to kiss him now, I just might... But right then... I was probably just trying to make myself feel better." Erica was probably referring to how she half asked Lucretia how either of us would have been a better choice.

"It's not like you to give me a straight answer."

For once I felt that Erica showed me a natural (albeit slightly drunk) smile. "Must be the wine."

- - - 7th - - -

The next day, I was first to rise and had prepared coffee and bruschetta for three.

Signora Lucretia woke up a little bit before I was done. She still looked quite drained, magically, but she took a cup of coffee and disappeared into what looked to be her study room.

Erica surprisingly woke up thirty minutes earlier than I had expected. She sat down and happily ate breakfast, while criticizing the way I had cut of the tomatoes on her bread.

"Good morning..." Kusanagi Godou, came down at around nine and greeted us.

Erica and I turned to return his greeting, but were surprised to see him without a top. Erica hid her surprise better than I did, but I was sure my 'ning' sounded a little too high. And I was sure that Kusanagi Godou had noticed it, because he looked at me curiously.

"Good morning, young man. How do you feel?" Fortunately signora Lucretia saved me by choosing that time to return to the dining room.

"Hungry... and sticky."

Lucretia turned to me, as if to redirect his statement.

"I'll begin cooking, why don't you take a bath first?"

Kusanagi Godou nodded at my suggestion and headed back up to his room. Seeing him up and about so soon, after the pain he was experiencing last night and drinking the sleeping potion, was another surprise. Intellectually, I knew that he was now an absurd kind of existence... but I suppose I was only beginning to fathom what that truly meant.

After Godou had left the room, Signora Lucretia announced that she had called in a few favors to get Godou a replacement passport. It took quite a few calls, and connecting favors, but she managed to get it done without resorting to using Kusanagi Godou's new found status.

"It should be ready for you to pick up before midday."

"Thank you." I voiced my appreciation, it was one less thing to worry about.

"I'm pretty sure I did it for the young man, but you're welcome all the same."

- - - 7th - - -

Like the other night, Erica had gone to assist Kusanagi Godou after his bath. Although this time she did so without teasing me.

Signora Lucretia, for the most part, kept out of the way as she drank another cup of coffee in the kitchen.

"I forgot to mention this while Erica was still here..."

I lowered the flames of the stove and gave her most of my attention.

"While I was calling my friends and contacts, one of them had mentioned that they sensed a heretic god approaching Napoli."

"You're not a-" Before I could finish, signora Lucretia gestured for me to stop and listen further.

"It has not been confirmed as of yet. Furthermore, all magic associations operating in Napoli has already been alerted investigate. I'm sure they are already preparing countermeasures to prevent the public from finding out and have started organizing escape and evacuation routes."

"Then why are you telling me this?" I asked, quite puzzled.

"It never hurts to at least be aware. Especially since you'll be handling a God Slayer until he returns to Japan."

"You're right. My apologies for overreacting." I apologized and sighed with relief. For a moment there, I thought we were going to be forced to ask Kusanagi Godou for help in the matter.

But what if there really was another god? What if this god was searching for Godou? What if another battle was unavoidable?

- - - 7th - - -

By the time Kusanagi Godou and Erica returned, I had enough time to serve most of the food I had planned on preparing.

Like two nights ago, he ate heartily. He looked so hungry that it almost seemed like he wanted to stuff the food into his throat and just swallow, but for some reason he would always slow down and savor each mouthful. That alone made cooking all that food worthwhile.

It was almost twelve when Kusanagi Godou finally finished desert.

"Thank you, Liliana. It was delicious."

No. That made it worthwhile.

"You're welcome."

"I was wondering about that, Godou." Erica suddenly interjected.

We all turned to Erica as she asked, "How did you know, it was only Lily that cooked for you?"

I wondered about that as well. I had mentioned that I would be cooking for him, but why did he only direct his gratitude for it to me.

Lucretia and I turned to was Kusanagi Godou, who opened his mouth to say something, but just closed it before any word could come out of his mouth. Then he paused to think. And said this half a minute later, "Shizuka told me to never answer that question."

"Your sister did?" I found that strange. So I asked, "Why?"

"I don't know." Well, I didn't have my hopes up. But if Shizuka said so, then it's probably for the best.

- - - 7th - - -

"Godou, how are you feeling now? Does anything still hurt? Is your magical reserves full?" Erica asked.

Godou closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment before nodding to Erica. "I'm fine. I think."

"Then I guess we can head to the airport today."

"I'd like to say that you should all stay a while and see the sight, but there's little to see here in Oliena." Signora Lucretia returned from her room, with some papers and the tablet in her hands. "And Godou, Ichirou had just sent me an email saying that your sister has been growing increasingly worried about you."

Kusanagi Godou nodded. And although I don't really understand what he thought about leaving so soon, I do know that he cared for his sister.

But then I remembered...

"I'm sorry, Kusanagi Godou. I had forgotten to call her." I apologized with a bow.

To my surprise, Kusanagi Godou gently pat at my hair. "It is fine."

My face suddenly felt warm, so I didn't immediately raise my head. 'How could he affect me so much from just touching my hair.'

"Lucretia, why did you bring that tome down with you?" Erica asked as if to change the topic.

"Well, I'm giving it to Godou."

"Eh?!" I raised my head and my voice in surprise.

"This thing is fairly useless to me and might only attract trouble. I feel that it would be safer in the possession of a King."

"But why, Kusanagi Godou?!"

"Of all the kings I can choose from, I like him best. He's also already here. And from Erica's retelling of his battle with Verethragna, I can tell that Godou can use this artifact quite well." She then offered the tablet to Godou. "I know you've come to deliver this to me. But would you accept this, King Kusanagi. As a token of friendship and gratitude."

It was surprise to hear Signora Lucretia suddenly talk to Kusanagi Godou with such formality. Erica and I certainly didn't. Perhaps because even though we knew he was a king, he didn't act like it (not yet at least)... or maybe it was because we were fortunate to know him before he became king.

Erica and I, turned our eyes to Godou. He looked at the tome with a blank expression as he thought to himself.

He took the tome and put it down on the table. Then suddenly he stood up, and, without a word, walked out the door.

Curious as to what was wrong, the three of us followed after him.

- - - 7th - - -

Once outside, we watched as Kusanagi Godou walked out of now destroyed gate and stopped in the middle of the empty dirt road.

Magical power suddenly coursed through his body. My sixth sense tingled as I felt his authority activate.

"I am the King of Devastation, Fear my wrath and feed my greed. If you serve me, be rewarded. If you oppose me, be destroyed. That is the malevolent decree of Baalzebub!"

Kusanagi Godou's magical aura changed! Not in power, but in form. And for a moment I thought I felt a presence similar to that of Melqart.

We watched with bated breath as Kusanagi Godou raised his right hand, which sent out a wave of power.

Minutes passed and nothing seemed to have happen. But seeing as Godou didn't move... we wordlessly decided to wait.

Ten minutes later a familiar buzzing sound grew louder and louder.

"The Swarm of Locusts!" Erica stated for us.

I looked around and noticed that the swarm had appeared from all sides. It then converged towards Kusanagi Godou's raised hand.

The first of the swarm to reach the goal was eaten by the next few. Those next few were eaten by those that followed them. And those that followed were eaten by those that followed. This process continued hundreds upon thousands of times until only one incredibly engorged locust remained and rested on Godou's hand.

Kusanagi Godou lowered the raised hand and turned towards us. He tore a hole in the middle of the locust's wings and it transformed into a small transparent bottle(that was still shaped reminiscently of the insect it previously was) and walked towards us.

He offered the bottle to Lucretia and said, "A return gift."

We looked at the small bottle. The liquid that it contained, although looked clear like water, glistened like diamonds. What could it be?

"Thank you." Lucretia said as she took the bottle from Kusanagi Godou's hands.

Then as if hearing the question in our heads he stated. "Elixir."

"The universal healing potion?"

Kusanagi Godou nodded at signora Lucretia's question.

Perhaps he did not understand the value of the potion in the same way that the three of us did. To us, it was an impossible potion that only exist in myth and legend. It's existence is akin only to the existence of Heretic Gods and God-Slayers. And yet here a bottle of it was...

"I can't accept something so precious." Signora Lucretia was overwhelmed with emotion. "You should keep this, you might need to use it in battle one day."

But Kusanagi Godou shook his head. "The bottle will vanish soon. Please drink it."

"Lucretia! Don't let it go to waste!" Erica exclaimed.

I agreed with Erica's sentiment, but decided not say anything.

Not wanting to waste the ultimate restorative, Lucretia opened the eerie locust shaped bottle, and quickly drank its contents.

Erica and I silently watched and were amazed at how quickly Lucretia's magical power was restored. Or rather, the potion restored her magical power so fast that it was noticeable.

"How do you feel?" Erica asked.

Lucretia took only a few seconds to consider her reply, "Impossibly well..."

"Amazing..." I found myself muttering.

We then noticed that the bottle contained the potion didn't vanish as we expected it too.

"Godou-kun, I appreciate the gift, but were you lying about the bottle to make me drink it?" Lucretia asked with a hint of anger, confusion and panic in her tone.

"A little."

"Was it really going to disappear?" she followed up her question, slightly agitated.

Kusanagi Godou nodded and answered, "Yes."

"How long would it have lasted?"

"At most... One hour."

"I see..." Somehow, Lucretia sounded relieved and a little happy.

We all understood now that the Elixir he made, with the Authority he usurped from Melqart, was not the almighty trump card we imagined it to be. He might make it for himself just before he fights. But making it in advance and keeping one for emergencies was not plausible. I wasn't sure if such a restriction was a good thing or a bad thing.

- - - 7th - - -

I had offered to clean up after ourselves, but Lucretia refused saying that Godou might miss boarding the flight to Tokyo if I did. Well that and because the Elixir had worked too well; so she felt like moving and doing things without magic.

While we were waiting for the cab Erica had called up from town. I decided to try calling Shizuka, with Erica's "permission" and Signora Lucretia's phone.

The phone ringed a few times before a heard a cautious sounding "Hello?" of a young girl.

"Shizuka-san, this Liliana Kranjcar."

'Liliana-san?! How's onii-chan? Has he been troubling you?' Shizuka sounded relieved yet excited.

"He's fine. And he's been mostly behaved."

'Onii-chan? Behaved?! That's strange...'

I don't know why, but it seemed like to her I said something very strange.

"Well, some things had happened... but it's not as I had previously envisioned." Of course, I couldn't outright tell her that her older brother has killed a god. She already thought Kusanagi Godou was hallucinating, she didn't need me to add into her worries.

'I see.' She sounded quite relieved. 'Is he there?'

"Yes. Do you want to talk to him?"

'Please.'

"One moment."

I handed the phone receiver to Kusanagi Godou. He placed it on his right ear and covered his left ear with his finger, which I found curious, before he greeted his sister with dull, "Yaho, Shizuka."

Curious as I was with how the siblings would normally interact, I decided not to eavesdrop on their conversation by consciously trying to listen for something else besides the phone. "Yes."

"Yes... A little... No... She's nice... Why are you angry? ... No... Another... Erica... Pretty... No... What do you mean? ... I don't understand..."

It took all my self control not to listen in on them, until...

"Yes... I killed two gods... I'm sure..."

What was he saying all of a sudden!

"I'm not crazy."

Fortunately or unfortunately, it seems that his sister did not believe him.

...

After a few minutes of conversing with his sister, Kusanagi Godou returned the phone to me. "Shizuka has a question."

I took the receiver from him and called, "Shizuka-san?"

'Liliana-san, when is onii-chan's flight back?'

I almost thought that she was going to ask me about the gods her brother claims to have killed.

"If we can get everything ready, then the flight this afternoon. But if we do not make it or don't get a ticket, then perhaps tomorrow or the next day." I decided not to mention what happened to Godou's passport, as it might only make Shizuka worry more.

Shizuka audibly sighed on the phone. "Okay..." She sounded a little disappointed. "Will you be accompanying him back?"

I hesitated, I didn't know if I should. There might be another god, I was going to say I wasn't sure.

But Kusanagi Godou suddenly came closer to me and the phone speaker. "She is Shizuka."

'I see! I'm relieved!'

"Wa-"

"Bye Shizuka."

'Wait-' Shizuka was going to say something more, but Godou suddenly pressed down on the phone's switch hook- terminating the call.

"Kusanagi Godou, that was very rude to your-!" Suddenly my words were caught in my throat when Kusanagi Godou's fighting aura suddenly flared. "Kusanagi Godou?"

"She's calling me."

I didn't quite understand what was happening. So I asked, "Who?"

"... Athena."

"Athena?!" I unconsciously echoed.

A large magic circle of infernal colors started to form at our feet.

Erica and Lucretia rushed to where we were.

"Godou, what's going on?!"

"Athena... activated my authority."

"Athena?!" Erica was surprised, but immediately asked a more important question that I failed to ask myself. "What will this authority do?"

"Transfer."

"Transfer what?"

"Everyone on this circle..."

"To where?"

"To Athena."

It was amazing how well Kusanagi Godou already understood his authority. He was bad at explaining it, but right now it was more important that he knew how it worked.

As the magic circle neared its completion, Signora Lucretia made sure she gave the circle a wide berth.

"Lucretia, aren't you coming?" Erica asked.

But Signora Lucretia gave her a knowing smile. "I believe it would be best for me to stay." There wasn't time for her to explain, but we understood she just had a revelation and decided to trust her decision.

Erica and I decided to leave all our bags with her and armed ourselves with our magic swords. The chances that Athena was the god that Lucretia had heard of earlier was high. If Athena had that triggered Kusanagi Godou's authority, then there's a good chance that she had summoned him to battle... why else would a heretic goddess use a god-slayer's authority to bring him to her?

When the circle completed, it engulfed us in a black light.

- - - 7th - - -

When the light dissipated, we were no longer in Signora Lucretia's home. But before I could apprise our location. The familiar sound of bow string being released drew my attention towards what was in front of Kusanagi Godou.

A man with golden blonde hair and wine red eyes had just fired an arrow of his golden bow. Kusanagi Godou raised his hand and fired a beam of dark light that utterly disintegrated the projectile.

"Kusanagi Godou." weakly called a clear and young feminine voice.

Erica and I turned towards it.

The first thing I noticed was that we were the middle of a famous Napoli landmark, Piazza del Plebiscito. It was absurd that we were able to travel so far in an insant! But I didn't have time to panic or be amazed. Because I soon noticed the owner of the voice.

Behind us stood a young girl that looked ten or twelve years of age. She had pitch black eyes and short silver hair. She wore a thin wool jacket, a miniskirt, knee-high socks and a knitted cap. For a moment, I was almost fooled into thinking she was an ordinary girl. But I gasped as my mind registered the number of arrows that had pierced her body, yet still stood in straight and steadfast majesty.

She could not possibly be human...

- - - 7th - - -

Chapter Seven: End

- - - 7th - - -

Chapter End Notes: Surprise! We're not done with Italy just yet!

I intend on trying to write a fight scene with Athena. (What am I getting myself into...) Cross your fingers folks! It'll either be an epic or an epic fail... (lol) ... but if I give up, you'll see a Athena mid-length insert after this instead and then probably, Erica narrating the battle.

Baalzebub! I don't want to write the details of Godou's Authorities in notes (although doing so might make people read them... but nah), so you'll have to wait for Erica to write her report! XD

This is the first time in a while that I've written so much dialogue in a chapter. It almost didn't feel like my style. (Mostly because I'm worried if a part of dialog might be confusing the reader with regards to who's talking.)

Pay Phones: I don't actually know if pay phones can call cell phones in another country and how it works (because I rarely use the thing), so let's pretend that's how it works anyway.

Elixir: The Elixir I'm featuring does not work the same way as the Potion of Everlasting Youth (that it says it's supposed to be in wiki), but the Elixir that is featured in most RPG games (You know... the one that fully heals the HP and MP of the user as well other status ailments). It has it's disadvantages, so don't worry about it being Over Powered just yet. Originally I was going to label it Panacea, but it just didn't click well with my head. This was because in most RPG games Panacea is the "cure-all" thing that removes status effects (and I didn't want to confuse myself or the readers who like RPG games). Besides it's sounds cool. XD