Author's Notes:
Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.
Secondly, a very special thanks for all those who favorite this story! Thanks to you all now this fic has over one thousand favorites! Thanks for the support!
Thirdly, some reviewers questioned how Taylor managed to use the Terror of the Depths when in the description it's linked with the Ocean's Shroud, since she didn't have it during the battle.
Originally the Terror was linked with the pearl, but Taylor sacrificed it in order to pay the activation cost for the Authority, afterwards, with the pearl now gone, it latched itself upon the Ocean's Shroud and started to use it for the sacrifice needed for its activation, creating the restriction found in the AN.
Hope that answers the question.
Lastly: I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".
\V/
Interlude: Aftermath to a Storm
Gripping the armrest of the luxurious armchair upon which he was sitting, a small drop of sweat dripping down his neck as he intently stared at the scene that was being displayed in the large screen set in front of him, at the sight of Alexandria's harbor and the surrounding sea turned into a frozen glacier, Zaliki Abubakar could feel both fear and anticipation battling for dominance inside him.
The power that the Eighth Campione commanded with such impunity both cowing and enticing him in equal measures, as he carefully went through plan after plan regarding how to harness even a fraction of said power in order to further the power of the Council and his own political might.
He knew that, while holding quite a bit of power in the African continent, in a worldwide scale the Council of the Sands couldn't really compete with the true heavyweights of the magical world, oh sure, they possessed both the magical might and knowledge to equal and actually even surpass some of them, but even so they simply could not compete with the likes of the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains, the Sorcerous Sacrilege Investigation society or the Royal Arsenal, despite the infuriating fact that the last two were extremely young organizations, less than two decades old in fact in regards to the latter one.
That disparity in power was born due to one single inescapable fact, that said organizations were under the aegis of their respective Campiones, an aegis that granted them a near insurmountable advantage when dealing with other organizations.
For incredibly precious few ever dared to cross a Campione, even indirectly, and this attitude tended to be extended to the organizations the God-slayers claimed as their own.
Even being tangentially connected with one of them was enough to boost a Mage Organization tremendously, the Witenagemot being the perfect example of that, for, despite the fact it was in constant conflict with the Royal Arsenal, it still received some of that protection and regard simply due to the fact that it was housed upon the country the Black Prince had claimed as his kingdom.
And Zaliki wanted that for Egypt, and more importantly, he wanted that kind of regard and power to the Council, and in doing so, for himself.
Sure, there had been always rumors that the Third Campione actually had a mansion somewhere in Alexandria itself, but in the end said rumors did nothing to their image or booster their standing before other mage associations, not to mention that despite their agents best efforts that had never been proved, not even a trace of her presence ever being found anywhere in the country, much less the old port city.
And considering that Alexandria itself was just attacked by a Heretic God and there was no trace of Madame Aisha, he guessed that that particular rumor could finally be put to rest.
Truth be told, he couldn't say that having that rumor dispelled particularly bothered him, after all while the Third Campione was supposedly quite powerful, she was so rarely seen and so prone to wandering around that being placed under her protection would hardly work as an effective deterrent towards outside forces. After all, no one would fear a guard dog that was never there to do said guarding.
But this new Campione, Taylor Hebert, was not only clearly extremely powerful even by Campione standards, but completely uneducated regarding the supernatural side of the world, meaning she would be far more easy to influence than the over a century old Queen of the Cave.
Oh, he would have to be careful, to act with both cunning and caution, lest the Eighth Campione discover his subtle attempts to guide and influence her actions for his personal benefit, there being plenty of records regarding the fate of those that had angered a Devil-king in the past to show him what would happen to him should he fail.
But despite the danger inherit within his plan, the benefits would be just that much greater in return, and he hadn't become the youngest mage to ever be admitted upon the council by avoiding well thought out risks, by playing his chances and walking the knife's edge, his cunning and keen mind always allowing him to be a steep ahead of his opposition, all the while accumulating more power and prestige, this time it would be no different.
Sure, the fact his initial gambit of putting Abasi under her service in order to better access both her power and personality, and in time to slowly influence her decisions, had been a setback, her taking Anit instead due to her unexpected fondness for the little Guardian having been completely unexpected, but it still was a link with Egypt nonetheless, and so something he could work with.
A large smirk appearing upon his features he took in the frozen landscape the Devil-king had created, his ambition finally overcoming his instinctual fear.
Oh, she was surely powerful, of that there was little doubt, but the little girl had no idea of the game she was in now, a game upon which experience and intellect were far greater weapons than mere strength.
Pouring himself a drink he envisioned the benefits of having a Campione under his subtle influence, confident on his future success. His opponent was an inexperienced little girl who probably had no knowledge of what the real world really was, no idea of what to do in a position of command, no idea how to wield her newfound power, both political and magical, which in turn meant he had plenty of time to act while she found her bearings.
Yes, he inwardly decided, he had ample time to try another way to gain some leverage over the young Devil-king, after all, at this point in time, she had no reason to even suspect about his intentions and schemes.
\V/
"It's frozen solid all the way to the seabed..." One of the Council's sensors incredulously stated by Anit's side, wide eyes staring fixedly at the glacial landscape that until moments ago had been a wildly thrashing stormy sea, awe and fear clear on his voice. "She flash froze the whole freaking ocean!"
Anit herself had to admit that what her King had just done was a fearsome demonstration of her might, the magical power necessary for creating such a sudden large scale change into the world itself being quite literally mind boggling.
Point in fact, she wasn't even sure if any of the other seven Campiones had ever shown such an overwhelming display of pure elemental power while dealing with an Heretic God, not over such an large area during such a small amount of time.
"Yeah, that escalated quickly." Some mage at her back attempted to joke, trying to break the current tension hanging around the group. "Man, this is going to be one hell of a chore to cover up, isn't it?"
"You could say that." Anit replied, a tinge of humor clear on her tone of voice despite the shock she was still feeling at the sudden end to the fight.
"Perhaps she could defrost it if we asked nicely?" She joked back deciding the mage had the right idea, gaining a smattering of weak laughs for her effort, the tension slowly leaving the group.
Only for it to immediately come right back and rise a few notches higher, due to, as if summoned by her words, Taylor suddenly appearing less than three feet away from them with no prior warning.
Ignoring the fact everybody else was dropping to their knees and all the 'Your Grace' and 'Your Highness' that were being thrown toward the Eighth Devil-king by the now jittery and scared looking mages of the Council, Anit instead searched her liege's form for any serious injury.
Giving Taylor a small polite bow of her head she approached the tired looking young woman, happy to see that unlike with her battle against Khepri the God-slayer seemed to be perfectly fine, only her tired features and battered clothing showing she had even been in battle against an Heretic God mere moments ago.
"Anit, report, where there any casualties amidst either the civilian population or the mages under your command?"" Taylor demanded, as if an general enquiring about the state of her troops, her tone serious as she stared at the Egyptian mage with her steely eyes.
"There were no civilian casualties, the early warning allowing us to complete the evacuation of the port area of the city before the battle truly started and the wards kept the worst of the storm away from the city at large, a few mages are suffering from exhaustion due to overusing their reserves while keeping said barriers up, but that is the worst of it all." She immediately replied, her back straightening up slightly at the grateful nod Taylor granted her.
"Good job, Anit, and the same goes for all of you." Taylor continued, looking at the assembled council mages, her eyes taking in their kneeling forms with a fierce pride in her eyes. "Rise, all of you, there is no reason to kneel, especially not this day, for your actions today helped to prevent the deaths of countless innocents, take pride in that."
Looking at the mages cautiously rising to their feet, admiring gazes locked at the young Devil-king in their midst and back straight with pride, Anit couldn't help but admire the ease with which Taylor had taken command of the group, almost as if she had prior experience leading groups of warriors into combat.
"Now go and get a well deserved rest, you are dismissed. Anit, you are with me." She simply stated, moving past the slightly awestruck mages with Anit following right behind, completely ignoring the murmuring that started the moment they left the group behind.
"Can the Council cover this up?" The young Campione idly asked gesturing with one arm towards the frozen sea, her tone of voice only slightly curious, as if she was simply stating a random thought that had manifested in her mind.
"It will put a serious strain upon their manpower, but I believe it's within their capabilities." She replied after giving the kilometers long icy mass that had been a sea but minutes ago an considering look, inwardly extremely glad that she wouldn't be amidst the ones that would have to both cover it up and defrost it as quickly as possible. "Time may be an issue, especially if we want to avoid any long term damage with the ecosystem, but it's doable."
"Hadn't really thought about that, but I can see your point." Taylor replied in a slightly amused tone of voice, inwardly musing about the possible consequences that dropping a glacier in the middle of the Mediterranean could cause. "If they are unable to deal with it in a timely manner let me know and I'll deal with it."
Anit nodded her understanding, making note to inform the Council of her King's considerate offer, even if she knew that it would only make the Council work even harder to deal with the situation as fast as possible to not look incompetent in the eyes of the Eighth Campione.
'So glad I'll not be part of that mess.' She thought with relief, already seeing the double shifts that would be imposed upon every single mage the Council could call upon in order to deal with the situation at hand.
"Oh, and the Museum won't be getting their blue pearl back." Taylor tacked on in an absentminded way, as if just remembering an unimportant fact. "I kinda crushed it during the battle, so you may want to warn the Council to come up with a cover for that too."
"Why did you do that?! Do you have any idea how rare a blue pearl is, much less one of that size?" Anit incredulously asked stopping on her tracks, mouth slightly agape as she gave her King a shocked look. "Or how much money that thing was worth? It was an extremely rare natural wonder!"
"Because it was necessary; Yes, point in fact I do actually know that; and probably a downright ludicrous amount of money." Was the Eighth Campione's nonchalant reply as she answered Anit's questions, the disinterested look upon her features showing she wasn't giving much thought to destroying a priceless natural treasure. "Just remember to tell them that later on, now get moving, it freezing out here and I want a warm bath before collapsing upon the extremely comfy, king-sized bed that is waiting for me back in the hotel."
Opening and closing her mouth in shock as she processed the nonchalant way in which Taylor was treating the fact she had destroyed and important, extremely valuable artifact, setting the whole mess aside in favor of her bed, part of her mind could not help but wonder if the rumors regarding the fact that Campiones had no common sense was true.
"Why exactly was it necessary?" Anit decided to enquire further, since what little she had gathered regarding Taylor seemed to go against the idea of her simply destroying the pearl for the hell of it.
"The freaky thing was somehow containing one of Leviathan's Authorities, and a downright useful one at that." She replied with a downright predatory smirk.
"That thing was a freaking Grimoire?!" The Egyptian mage all but shouted in shock, wondering how the hell the Council had allowed such a priceless and, far more importantly, dangerous magical artifact to bypass their notice and end up in a museum of all places.
"No idea what a Grimoire is, so can't really help you with answering that." Taylor nonchalantly replied, turning a corner and proceeding down the deserted road that would lead them back to the five stars hotel upon which they were staying, giving Anit an uncertain look from the corner of her eyes, as if pondering about saying something or not.
"What is it?" She asked, knowing that Taylor rather appreciated when she was direct and to the point, apparently having very little patience with pointless posturing, something she herself heartily agreed with.
Looking at her King's slightly conflicted look, as if she was battling with herself regarding whatever it is she was pondering about asking or not, Anit wondered exactly what it could be to give the fearless Campione walking by her side pause.
"I'll tell you more when we get back to the room and you put some wards around it." She replied with an irritated sigh while giving Anit a disgruntled look, a faint dusting of pink appearing on her cheeks. "For now let's just say that I may need your help for one more thing tonight before we hit the sack."
'It's almost as if she is embarrassed about whatever she wants to ask me.' Anit curiously thought, nodding her agreement to her King's request while noticing that the faint pink tinge upon her cheeks had grown slightly darker, inwardly baffled by Taylor's strange behavior.
\V/
'I'm starting to see a pattern here.' Taylor calmly though while taking in her pure white surroundings, remembering the last two times she had found herself upon this very same unending white void, and the similar situations that had led to it, after all, once was happenstance, twice was coincidence, but three times is enemy action
She was upon the Netherworld, the place upon which Pandora dwelled, the supposedly borderline between the world of the living and the afterlife, or at least that was the gist of what she remembered the purple haired God telling her.
'And that's another thing to ponder about, why can I remember it all so clearly now?' She mused, thinking about how after waking up she had been only able to remember brief fragments of her previous visits to this strange realm.
" Taylor, so you did decide to visit!" A joyful, excited shout came from right behind, followed by a pair of small deceitfully strong arms hugging her, lifting her off the ground and twirling her in place, effectively stopping her previous train of though. "I'm so glad to see you again! You are most definitely my favorite daughter!"
"Hello, Pandora, nice seeing you again." She said, her voice an interesting mix of tiredness and bemusement.
"Oh, please dear, I thought we had already deal with that pesky little issue, please call me mom." The child like God said in mock seriousness, finally putting Taylor down and allowing the Eighth Campione to turn around to face her. "You are one of my children after all!"
Feeling an unwanted blush trying to surface upon her features, she took a few deep breaths in order to regain control of herself while wondering how to answer that particular request.
After all, she already had a mother, and she had no intention of replacing her, no matter the fact she had died years ago, but likewise she quite literally owed her life to the strange God in front of her, who even now was staring at her with a hopeful gaze, which made outright refusing her request a little difficult.
"You are truly adorable when you blush my dear, it's an endearing sight." Pandora said amidst her bell like laughter, all but cooing at Taylor's embarrassed expression. "The way your cheeks flush is truly lovely, just like they did as you asked your little follower for her help earlier tonight."
Feeling the heat upon her cheeks growing even stronger at the knowledge that Pandora had somehow seen that particular little debacle of her asking for Anit's aid in dealing with the fallout of using her Eternity's Sight after the battle with Leviathan, Taylor decided that a change of topic was most definitely warranted.
"Perhaps at some point in the future, but far more importantly, what is the current problem?" Taylor asked, wondering why the all giving woman had called her to her abode.
"Problem, what problem?" She asked in slight confusion, tilting her head to the side. "What could you possibly mean by that, my child?"
"I'm talking about whatever reason it was that made you summon me here!" Taylor replied in slight annoyance, thinking her host to be playing dense simply for the heck of it. "Last time that happened you warned me Leviathan was about to attack Alexandria! So why did you call me this time?"
"You seem to be mistaken my dear, I wasn't the one to call you here, either then or now." The purple haired petite woman happily proclaimed, a hand gently combing Taylor's long hair. "Like I said before, it was you that came to visit me."
"And I'm afraid that this time there is simply nothing all that interesting happening for me to relay it to you." She continued, her features taking in a faux pouting look, mirth clear in her eyes. "Alas, that means you won't be taking any heroic quests this time, I'm afraid. Though you do have my thanks for handling that little tidbit we discussed in your last visit."
Looking at the childish figure merrily playing with her hair, whom Anit insisted was one of the strongest beings on the planet, Taylor boggled about that little revelation, inwardly wondering how that could possibly work.
"And not only did you accomplish what I had asked, but you did it in such a magnificent manner as well! I do appreciate a certain flair for the dramatic, and you most certainly managed to deliver that!" Pandora laughed, letting go of her hair to twirl in place for a moment, only to suddenly stop, leaning her head slightly to the side, as if listening to something only she could hear. "Yes, I most definitely agree, such diligent and prompt actions do deserve some recompense, especially to my favorite daughter."
In a sudden burst of speed Pandora darted to the young Campione's side, her arm snaking towards her throat in a blur of movement, before retreating just as fast, a golden glint now upon her hand.
"Yes, it could definitely work, especially considering how growth was a fundamental part of His very being." She continued to talk while intently staring at the golden marble she was lightly grasping with both hands, all but ignoring Taylor startled gasp. "Yes, it could most definitely work."
"I have decided, this is a token of my appreciation, daughter dearest." She happily stated even as the necklace Taylor had acquired after Khepri's defeat started to shiny like a miniature sun, completely blinding the young Campione.
And with those words Taylor felt something being forcefully shoved straight into her chest, a feeling of all encompassing warmth completely engulfing her body even as she started to lose consciousness.
"I shall look forward to your next visit dear, I do hope you enjoy my gift!"
\V/
All but jumping out of her bed, in a manner that was also becoming painfully familiar, startled eyes taking in her surroundings and her heartbeat drumming upon her ears, Taylor wondered what the hell had just happened.
Pulling together the fragmented remains of what she could remember of her latest encounter with the All Giving Woman, while part of her mind noted that while still disconnected and scattered she still could remember more than after last time, she wondered if she had simply imagined Pandora forcefully shoving her necklace into her body.
A wonder that lasted but a scant few moments before being swiftly crushed as she confirmed that the necklace she had wore to bed had disappeared, only an empty leather string remaining around her neck.
"What the fuck?" She questioned to the universe at large, wondering what that had been all about, while simultaneously feeling slightly grateful that at least this time Anit wasn't sharing her room in order to see her undignified awakening.
Carefully looking over her body for anything wrong, searching for any uncomfortable feeling or soreness, anything that could indicate that something was amiss, after several long moments Taylor had to admit that the only thing with her body she could point out as even slightly amiss was its apparent utter lack of anything even slightly wrong.
Remembering Pandora's words regarding her actions, how she had called it a gift, and remembering that said woman was the reason she was a Campione in the first place, Taylor swiftly decided that something had to have changed, meaning that she simply was unable to see said change, or at least, she couldn't see it with her current senses.
Firming her resolve she sought out the familiar feeling of her Authorities, intending on using her Eternity's Sight to see if she was able to pinpoint whatever Pandora had done, and afterwards perhaps grant herself some kind of Thinker power to further analyze it.
But even as she opened her mouth to intone the now familiar spell words, allowing the feeling of power from her Authorities to slowly flood her body, she suddenly stopped short, as the thought regarding her Shards of Infinity had brought said Authority to the forefront of her mind, allowing her to see that it had already fully recovered from her battle with Leviathan, all her shards being fully charged and ready for use.
All four of them.
'What the actual fuck?' She incredulously thought, mouth agape for a moment as she took in that particular Authority and how it had apparently grown, her mind immediately returning to Pandora's words regarding a gift.
Wasting a moment considering the implications this presented, Taylor stayed seated upon her bed for a moment longer, shock clear upon her features.
Only for her shocked look to be slowly, but surely, replaced by a large, predatory grin.
\V/
Inside a dark, lavishly decorated, room in the very center of the city of Cairo, nine individuals sat upon a large ancient table, four males and five females, their age varying greatly from the early thirties to the late eighties, but all were wearing exquisite pieces of tailor made clothing, and all had pondering and calculating looks on their faces as they watched the nervous looking mage standing near the room's entrance, intently listening to what he was saying.
"Concluding my report, the cleaning up of the aftermath of the Eighth Campione's battle against the Heretic God Leviathan is proceeding according to schedule." He firmly stated despite the nervous feeling that had lodged itself into his gut upon having the full focus of the gathering of the most powerful and influential mages of all Egypt centered upon himself.
"All traces of the ice that had enclosed the harbor have been dealt with and day to day business in the city has returned to normal, there were no information leaks and the whole situation has been effectively contained, we estimate there will be no further complications."
"Very well, we thank you for your efforts, you are dismissed." The oldest man amidst them calmly said, waving a wrinkled hand towards the door, the young mage immediately obeying and leaving the room.
"Now that the more immediate issue has been dealt with, let's move on to more pressing matters." He solemnly stated, turning his old eyes towards the woman at the farthest seat to his right. "Lady Eshe, what have you found out regarding our esteemed guest, what can you tell us?"
Clearing her throat the dark skinned and haired lady started to speak while perusing a surprisingly small folder, and idle gesture of her hand making a servant rush forth and place a copy of her findings in front of each council member.
"Despite the best efforts of our operatives, both in the mundane and in the supernatural, we have discovered extremely little in regards to the young woman who has become the Eighth Campione." She said in a bitter, self reprimanding tone of voice, clearly showing her displeasure at how little her followers and operatives had found out. "Most, if not all, that we know about her is pure conjecture based upon what we have observed, and assumptions based upon said observations."
"That is extremely unusual Lady Eshe, you and yours have hardly ever failed upon bringing to both our eyes and our ears what was needed, granting us the knowledge we needed to act, and yet what you bring towards us now is the knowledge that our eyes and ears have deserted us?" The leader of the council calmly enquired, a slightly reproachful tone in his voice.
"My apologies Lord Harakty, but despite our best efforts, after scouring all sources of knowledge available to us and even seeking aid of other foreign associations in our attempts to build our report, we were assault time and again by one worrying fact that repeatedly thwarted us." Eshe calmly replied, a hard glint on her eyes as she stared defiantly back at Harakty's gaze. "Which in turn forced us to use more indirect means in order to retrieve what information we could regarding the Eighth Campione."
"And what fact is this, that so thwarted you?" Another member of the council asked, leaning forward on his seat.
"That, technically speaking, the Eighth Campione, known as Taylor Hebert, does not officially exist." She stated with finality, causing murmurs to arise from the other council members.
"Explain." Harakty simply stated, effortlessly silencing the room.
"From what we have observed so far we have concluded that Taylor Hebert is most likely American, what little remains of her accent indicating her to be from somewhere on the eastern coast of North America."
"But upon using our resources to search about her in the government agencies of said country we found absolutely nothing: No birth certificate, no social security number, no school or medical records, no passport, nothing." She explained in an irritated tone of voice, gesturing towards the first page of the folder which contained a more detailed explanation in regards to their search.
"While increasing the intensity and reach of our search within America, we also expanded our efforts towards other English speaking countries in case our earlier assumption was wrong, to the same effect. For all intents and purposes she is a nonentity, having absolutely no official records of any kind; as we speak my operatives are doing a wide search with the help of both the Witenagemot and America's own Sorcerous Sacrilege Investigation society, but I have little hope they shall find anything of true relevance."
"The source of our belief is born due to what we gathered from her actions so far: The Eighth Campione has resided in high level hotels since her battle against Khepri, but despite their high cost she has had little trouble affording them, not to mention all payments have been rendered through cash; there is no document trail whatsoever marking her entrance to our country; she has shown the ability to spot the tails placed to track her movements in Alexandria with extreme ease; and finally, we have confirmed that while in Alexandria she has visited a known forger, and obtained a complete set of fake documents from him."
"As such, we have reasons to believe that she is somehow connected with the mundane criminal underworld, and quite deeply connected at that, to the point that all traces of her civilian life have long since been erased." She grimly concluded, a pained grimace on her features as she thought about the powers of a Campione in the hands of a common criminal.
"Those are troubling news indeed, although considering her actions regarding both Khepri and Leviathan, perhaps not as dire as they initially sound." Harakty thoughtfully said, a pondering look on his features.
"Regarding the supernatural side of things, we know that she had no prior knowledge regarding magic or the supernatural before being reincarnated as a Devil-king." She continued, activating a projector with one hand.
"As for her Authorities, she apparently gained two from slaying Khepri, the ability to create an army of sand scarabs and the ability to teleport while leaving behind autonomous sand clones of herself." She continued, gesturing towards pictures of both abilities being used.
"Regarding Leviathan, we do not know what Authority she gained from directly slaying the beast, but we do know that she successfully absorbed one of the beast's Authorities that had been contained within an undiscovered Grimoire she found in one of the city's museums, which allows her to summon some kind of water sea serpent divine beast." She said with chagrin, knowing that heads would roll for such an oversight pertaining to such a rare and valuable item remaining unnoticed.
"As for the Heretic God she initially slayed, his or hers identity remains a mystery, what we do know is that she has gained at least two authorities from the kill, an golden avatar that posses tremendous strength and durability, and the ability to summon an extremely powerful ice beam."
"Considering the time lapse between when she was supposedly reborn, something we can determined with some degree of certainty due to it being felt by both our more sensitive sensors and confirming reports from foreign organizations, with her first sighting just before the battle against Khepri, we assume that their battle must have happened near Cairo itself, sufficiently far away to remain unnoticed, but still close enough for her to reach the city within said time span."
"Finally, considering some of her actions, from heading straight towards the location upon which two Heretic Gods would attack, despite not even knowing about their existence before encountering miss Anit, to finding a forgotten Grimoire our agents had overlooked, we believe that she may possess some kind of prophetic ability, either that or posses some form of Spirit Vision."
"Regardless of which she does posses, we also strongly believe that she is completely unaware of said ability, having never been taught how to harness her gift and having no way to pursue further instruction before due to her lack of knowledge regarding the existence of magic."She finished, closing her folder with a tired sigh, this new information gaining interested murmurs from the other members of the council.
"Just seeking clarification, Lady Eshe, but something you have said in regards to the first God she has slayed piqued my interest." Zaliki interjected from his seat, a small frown clear upon his face.
"So what you are telling us is that, considering the time between when her rebirth was sensed and being spotted heading for Khepri, the first God she slayed had to have been slayed near the city of Cairo proper, but still far enough away from civilization that no one noticed the battle, making it so that the battlefield was most likely somewhere in the Sahara." He firmly stated as he perused the reports in front of him with narrowed eyes.
"And said God most likely has gold as its primary color in his legend, possess immense physical strength and, somehow, dominion over ice." He finished with a small irritated sneer, conveying what he thought about said analyzes. "A golden Ice God, she found in the middle of one of the world's largest deserts, please forgive me if I find this slightly unbelievable."
Holding back the tired sight she could feel trying to surface, she instead started to explain the laborious process by which her operatives had come to their conclusions, even if part of her mind couldn't help but agree with the young councilman disbelief.
\V/
Laying down against the side of the building on his school's rooftop Kusanagi Godou relaxed during his lunch hour, fully enjoying the warmth of the sun against his skin and the peace and quiet that was permeating the very air all around.
The fact those two things had become ever increasingly rare commodities in his life these last few months only making him appreciate this moment of calm and serenity even more.
Regrettably for him, the peace did not last much longer, as the sound of a door violently banging against a wall utterly shattered it, the sound of harsh footsteps coming straight towards him only adding to it.
"Godou, what do you think you are doing sleeping like that? There is no time to waste, we must act immediately!" The blonde haired beauty demanded, stopping right next to him with an incensed look. "Such an important event demands your full attention!"
"Hello, Erica, a good day to you too." He calmly replied without opening his eyes, hoping that doing so would somehow allow him to retain the relaxed feeling he had been experiencing moments ago.
"I'm afraid Erica has a point this time, your majesty, for this is indeed an occurrence of some significance." A more formal voice said right next to where he presumed Erica was standing.
"I already told you to simply call me Godou, Liliana." He relied, finally opening his eyes in order to look at the two European beauties standing in front of him. "You can drop all those crazy titles."
"That's irrelevant! Haven't you seen the Committee's latest report?! This event could completely change everything!" The Diavolo Rosso shouted while starting to pace alongside the length of the school roof.
"No, not really." He truthfully replied, vaguely remembering someone from the History Compilation Committee trying to give him some kind of folder earlier. "So what is the problem?"
"A new Campione has been born, Godou-san." Yuri's calm voice said, as she and Ena joined them, a slightly worried look upon the hime-miko's features. "The Eighth Campione has been reborn in Egypt."
"And she is some kind of mysterious, undercover super-spy too!"Ena happily chirped in, sitting down right next to him, a bright smile upon her features.
Stopping to think about what he personally knew regarding his fellow Campione, as well as his own direct interaction with both Marchis Voban and Salvatore Doni, he could understand why that could be cause for some concern, but then again this new God-slayer was all the way out in Egypt, so that should hardly matter to him.
"I'm a pacifist Erica, the fact a new Campione was born should hardly affect me." He truthfully stated before giving Ena an bemused look. "And what do you mean saying she is a super-spy?"
"That the Eighth Campione is apparently connected with the criminal underworld, not to mention that absolutely no official records pertaining to her existence could even be found." Erica seriously stated, stopping her angry pacing to level him with a worried glare. "A common criminal is the newest Campione, this is an outrage!"
That brought him short, his earlier tired amusement being replaced with caution, the idea of a criminal with the powers of a Devil-king being more than enough to make him focus.
"Are you certain about that? And what do you mean that she has no records?" He questioned, slowly rising up, weary eyes looking from one girl to the other.
"All reports point towards a criminal past of some sort, but there are absolutely no solid info that could truly validate it." Liliana explained, getting a thin folder from her backpack and passing it towards her King. "As for the absence of records, it's exactly as it sounds, officially speaking the Eighth Campione does not exist, not being a citizen of any known country."
Looking at the picture of the long haired young woman who was apparently his fellow God-slayer, Godou pondered that she did not exactly look like a criminal, but at the same time the harsh glint he could see in her eyes gave him pause.
He recognized those eyes, the very same eyes Marchis Voban possessed, the same eyes Salvatore Doni had shown him mid battle, the eyes of a predator.
And considering that his interactions with both the First and the Sixth Campiones really hadn't left a positive impression of his 'siblings' behind, that similarity didn't exactly reassure him, not to mention that the fact his newest 'sister' was apparently somehow connected with the criminal underworld really didn't fill him with hope that it would be any different with her.
"What Heretic God did she slay?" He questioned, wanting to know more about this Taylor Hebert, starting to turn a new page into the folder before noticing the weary looks that Erica, Liliana and Yuri were trading. "Girls, what's the problem?"
"At this point in time, she has slayed the Sun God Khepri, the Biblical Beast Leviathan, and a third unknown God, suspected to possess dominion over ice." Erica said with a tired sigh, one hand tiredly passing through her long blonde hair.
"How long has she been active?" Godou couldn't help but ask, eyes wide as he took in the fact this newly resurrected God-slayer had already taken down three Gods.
"Four days." She deadpanned, her words conveying how unbelievable she thought the whole situation was. "She somehow tracked down both Khepri and Leviathan right after becoming a Campione, one after another."
"It's believed that she may be a Seer, since despite not knowing about the supernatural world before her reincarnation, she managed to move to the exact location upon which both Gods would strike with perfect accuracy." Yuri added, a faraway look in her eyes.
Looking from one worried face to the other, before looking back at the picture within the folder, Godou couldn't help but worry about this new Campione, wondering what exactly this new, apparently criminally connected, God-slayer could be plotting right at this very moment.
\V/
"So let me see if I got things right." Taylor asked Anit, waving around the spoon she had been using to eat a large sundae for emphasis, her form all but slumped at the chair she was occupying in the small restaurant they chose to eat at.
"The other seven Campiones can be accurately summed up like this: A blood lusting tyrant that values nothing but the thrill of the hunt;" She said while pointing to the small collection of folders regarding her peers she had requested from the Council, more specifically, the picture of an old looking man with a truly bloodthirsty grin.
"A peerless martial artist, her skills unmatched in all the world, that also possess a truly titanic ego that matches, if not exceeds, her superb abilities, and that truly believes she is above everyone else;" She continued pointing to the picture of a black haired beauty wearing Chinese clothing, a somewhat demeaning look on her gracious features.
"A reclusive hermit, who refuses almost all contact with the rest of world and few have ever seen, whom possess an extreme case of wanderlust and constantly completely disappears out of the radar, sometimes for months at a time"; She kept going, pointing to a grainy photo taken from a considerable distance depicting a black haired woman covered in robes apparently entering a glowing portal.
"A costumed, masked, hero of love and justice, with a flair for the dramatic, valiantly defending his country from the forces of darkness;" She went own, moving closer the picture of said Campione, his metallic mask gleaming at the sunlight, his black cape dramatically fluttering behind him in what looked like a pose straight from a super hero show.
Taking a moment longer to take in his sight, while idly wondering what it meant for her sanity that she thought the masked hero of love and justice was the most normal looking of the lot, Taylor shook her head and went on with her summarization of her fellow Campione.
"A kleptomaniac egoist, with a severe case of denial, and no regard whatsoever for the possessions of others;" She bluntly stated, pointing to the picture of an arrogant looking young man with black hair.
"A happy, go lucky, idiotic, battle maniac, without a care for the consequences of his own actions, whom, through his careless and unthinking actions, has acquired the flattering title of 'The True Son of Epimetheus';" She deadpanned while pointing to the madly grinning blonde man that was cheerfully waving from the picture.
"And an unrepentant womanizer, who's apparently doing his level best to build himself an actual, freaking, harem of all things, with a penchant for massive amounts of property damage." She finished, looking at the picture of a Japanese youth surrounded by a throng of beautiful woman of varying nationalities, her mind making some very uncomfortable connections between the Seventh Campione and a certain Canadian villain from her home dimension. "Does that about sum it up?
"Yeah, pretty much." Anit replied with a pained grimace at how Taylor had bluntly summarized her fellow Campione's less flattering traits, but not really managing to refute any of it.
"Dear God…" Taylor mumbled in utter shock, looking at the folders spread across the table with unseeing eyes, a look of horrified realization slowly dawning upon her features. "I'm the normal one…"
\V/
Taylor's Authorities:
Eternity's Sight; Golden Hero; Shards of Infinity +1. (Scion)
Master of the Sands (Khepri)
Ocean's Shroud; Terror of the Depths (Leviathan)
\V/
Author's Notes:
You know, I'm actually really surprise so few readers realized that Khepri's remains were in fact a Chekhov's Gun.
I thought I had made it quite clear, what with the necklace appearing no less than three different times in the story, at chapters four, five and six. But only two readers actually asked about it in their reviews.
Oh, well, guess I should be happy my plot is not predicable then; that little plot twist is only starting, look forward to further developments.
About the partial, and sometimes even downright wrong, information regarding what Authorities Taylor possess that was shown in this chapter.
This was done from the Council's point of view, regarding whatever information they managed to gather through their agents while observing the fights from a distance. And as such, is full of holes and logically based assumptions, which Taylor out-worldly status and her Shards make completely and utterly wrong.
The Gravity Touch power she used to defeat Khepri was a subtle power, with no outward signs that it was even there, all that onlookers were able to see was Khepri being crushed into a marble after Taylor's golden form touched it. And so everyone is supposing that it was in fact an aspect of her Golden Hero, and not another Authority.
Her Clone Teleport copies left ashes behind which, amidst a furious storm and seen from a distance, were mistaken for sand, and so attributed to an Authority she would have gotten from Khepri, especially considering the sand constructs she used in the fight and how they to dissolved back into sand.
And so by process of elimination her Ice Beam and the Golden Avatar would have to be the powers she acquired from the first God she slayed, which considering the timeframe had to be slayed somewhere near Cairo.
While we know that's not true in the slightest, they don't.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.
