Author's Note: Yo…Chapter Seven here.

Ok, if you've read the latest chapters of some of my other stories, you will know that a lot of crap has cropped up in the last couple of months that stopped me from updating my stories, so by all means read them if you want the whole story.

To bring up my last chapter…I am frankly irked that people were petty enough to bitch about several things including (but not limited to): Jean receiving multiple Authorities from Poseidon, Jean reciting Davy Jones' history, a few spelling and grammar errors and my deviation from Canon.

I hereby challenge those who did so to put their story writing skills were their mouths are! If YOU think you are all that, by all means prove it by writing your own damned Campione story and see how you like it!

Sorry…rant over…it just gets more than slightly irritating when people moan at me because I step out of the nice, safe boxes that they build up in their minds about stories and how they should go.

As always, Read, Review and check out my other stories!

Disclaimer: I do not own Campione!

"Godō" - Regular Speech

'My Everyday life!' - Thoughts

"God Slayer!" - Heretic God/Powered Up Campione speech

"Fire!" - Magic/Authority Use

Chapter 7: Politics, Knights and Gods

Minutes Later

S.S. Pucelle mooring, Lympia Port

Jean stiffened as an odd feeling swept over her as she stepped onto the quay from the boat. She looked down at her hand and her eyes widened as she saw it turn translucent for a moment.

"Damn!" she cursed as knowledge of what it was filtered into her head. It was the price for using the [Master of the Oceans] Authority. She quickly turned to a puzzled Rebecca.

"Rebecca, I need to get back to the hotel room, ASAP!" she hissed.

"Yes, Your Majesty." the Hearth Witch replied. The look on her King's face convinced her that now was not the time for questions. She hurried her king to the end of the quay, snapping at Marcel to report to his Order's chapterhouse as she did so.

Grabbing the first taxi she could find, she told the driver where to go before looking over at Jean, who was trembling.

"What the hell?" she asked Jean quietly.

"Poseidon's Authorities are...different." Jean replied, "Aside from the need to use the [Tríaina] as a medium and the restrictions on locations they can be used, the others have no real restrictions on their use…instead, they have consequences for if they are used. [Master of the Oceans] turns me to water for the duration I had it active for, plus extra time if I have it active for less than an hour or step onto dry land. I have about five minutes before I turn into a puddle for two hours."

Thankfully, they reached the hotel in time and rushed Jean up to the Royal Suite just in time. Running into the bathroom, Jean stepped into the bath after making sure that the plughole was sealed and promptly dissolved into water, filling up the bath to just below the overflow.

"Even with everything I've read and seen about Heretic Gods and Campione, this has to be the most bizarre thing I have ever seen." Rebecca remarked as she stood at the door.

"Try being on this side of the coin." Jean's voice replied waspishly from the bathwater, making the Hearth Witch start in surprise.

"You…you can actually talk in your liquid state?" she asked in disbelief.

"I can think and talk, but that's just about all I can do." the Eighth Campione replied, "If anyone asks to see me in the next couple of hours, inform them that I am exhausted after my fight with the Heretic God and I shall speak to them at my convenience."

Rebecca nodded, then realised that Jean couldn't see her, so she said, "Understood."

The Witenagemot witch grabbed a clipboard, pen and paper before dragging a chair into the bathroom and sitting on it so she could start a letter to Princess Alice to inform her of the recent happenings.

During the Battle between Heretic God and Campione

Thrace, Bulgaria

If one were to observe the scene taking place betwixt suburbs and mountains, it would surprise any ordinary person. On one side was a pale skinned, silver-haired girl wearing a white dress, a belt of bronze circles, a wreath and wielding a large black scythe with the blade emerging from the mouth of a stylised serpent.

On the other side was a fully armed and armoured European knight wielding a hand-and-a-half sword. The armour was pure white and positively radiated purity.

Behind the white knight stood what looked like a thirteen year old girl with pale skin, blond hair and red eyes. Wearing a fancy blue dress that wouldn't look out of place in a period drama, she nevertheless radiated confidence despite the identity of her foe.

Not a foot behind the scythe-wielding girl was a sword. It was worn and rusty, but had a faint aura of menace about it that would make any regular human with any magical sensitivity stay well away from it.

"Thou hast done well, sir knight." the Heretic Goddess known as Athena said as she twirled her scythe, "Yet ye should realise that without yonder Divine Sword of Salvation or the Holy Grail, ye and the Witch Queen cannot prevail against this one."

"This knight would tend to disagree, Goddess of Wisdom." Lancelot du Lac retorted, "Verily, this knight hast not even begun to fight for the lady Guinevere!"

Despite the brave words of the [God of Steel], the situation did not look promising for he and his charge. Athena had struck without announcing her presence, separating the Heretic God and the Divine Ancestor from what had come to be known as Excalibur, the Divine Sword of Salvation. The Holy Grail was not an option for the Divine Ancestor who had once been the Heretic Goddess Gwenhwyfar, as her power was still depleted from unearthing Excalibur in the first place.

Lancelot had tried to strike at her from behind, to end the battle in a single strike, but Athena had anticipated such trickery and thus, they had been fighting for a good hour.

"Abandon this foolishness, maidservant of the Supreme Steel." Athena spoke to Guinevere directly, "I shall not permit my archenemy in the land of Japan in the far east to be slain by thine master. Thou shalt not steal my prey."

"Guinevere cannot obey thine command, Goddess Athena." the Divine Ancestor replied, "For 'tis the fate of we Goddesses of the Earth to serve those of Steel. Such it has been since time immemorial."

"I shall bury you both in this land then, where ye can curse the fate that overcame thee as a result of sheer stubbornness." Athena replied smoothly, "Stand ready, [God's Shadow] Lancelot. It is time to truly test thine mettle."

Beneath his helm, Lancelot frowned. Without the Divine Sword of Salvation, he, as a mere shadow of a true Heretic God, didn't stand much in the way of a chance against a fully manifested Heretic Goddess. If Guinevere could use the Holy Grail to siphon off Athena's power as a Goddess of the Earth, then that would greatly aid in him winning this fight, not to mention speeding up the resurrection of the King Who Manifests at the World's End.

Still, a knight had to deal with whatever hand he was dealt with by fate and he wasn't unfamiliar with fighting at a disadvantage. Guarding a Divine Ancestor was a disadvantage in and of itself, especially one who was trying to revive the strongest God of Steel, so Lancelot had fended off several Heretic Gods and Mages seeking to either bed her or stop her.

Abruptly, the three divine beings were bombarded by a blast of power, the kind that only came from the confrontation between a Heretic God and a Campione. Guinevere's eyes widened, Lancelot staggered and Athena started to snarl.

"So…HE descended and hast been defeated!" the Goddess of Wisdom said with an expression of utter rage on her face, "Count thyselves lucky, False Deity and Witch Queen, for I have a new enemy to slay!"

In a burst of darkness, Athena vanished, along with the Divine Sword of Salvation.

"This knight is uncertain, but this…is not good." Lancelot stated after a moment.

"Indeed. Guinevere agrees with sir knight." the Divine Ancestor sagged visibly, dropping her tough front now that her enemy was gone, "That she was able to take sir knight's sword is bad enough, but now we will have to track down and assail her!"

"This knight proposes to use the Grail to summon another imitation Heretic God to do so." Lancelot said seriously.

"Sadly, this will not be possible until the Grail recovers, sir knight." the blond demigoddess sighed, "Guinevere estimates another week at best, and she is irritated that she didn't get a chance to feed Athena to the Grail!"

"'Twas this knight's failing, milady." Lancelot bowed to her, "This knight should have struck her more swiftly."

"Nay, sir knight. Guinevere cannot lay the blame on thee." the girl shook her head wearily, "It was Guinevere who did not ward the area enough before unearthing the Divine Sword. It was Guinevere who overused her own power and could not use the Grail when it was needed. Moreover, it was indeed Guinevere who arrogantly assumed that none would dare to disturb her while the sword was being excavated. Enough. Let us retire so we may plan the recapture of the Divine Sword."

"As you wish, milady." Lancelot said.

The two walked off and vanished in a haze of white light.

Two Hours Later

Royal Suite, Hotel Negresco, Nice

It was with much relief that Jean reassumed her human form after two hours of being something similar to a slime-monster from a video game. She could see after a fashion, but it was mostly blurry shapes with no colour. She could hear, but not very well.

Being unable to move was not something she enjoyed over-much, but if she had to endure it for not using her Authorities correctly, so be it.

"Welcome back to being humanoid." Rebecca said in amusement. She had looked up from her letter writing when the water that made up her king surged up and reshaped itself into her original form, clothes and all, "That has to be the most severe penalty for using an Authority that I have ever heard of. Turning into water? What'll happen for the others?"

"[Lord of Horses] will turn me into a foal." Jean recited as she stepped out of the bath, "[Earthshaker] will shatter half of the bones in my body. [Stormbringer] will soak me to the bone for a couple of hours. Can Campione get pneumonia? If so, I'm probably going to catch it every time I use that Authority…"

"What about your [Tríaina]?" Rebecca asked curiously.

"No demerits. A symbol of power that harms the god to which it belongs isn't that good of a symbol, is it?" Jean said with a grin, "Even better, when I use the [Tríaina] as a medium, I don't have to fully invoke the other four Authorities, although the effects are just at the level of a strong Hime-Miko compared to their full might unleashed."

The Hearth Witch shook her head in amazement. "Only, she says. You do know that, without taking Campione into consideration, Hime-Miko are some of the more powerful magic users in our world?"

"True." Jean shrugged as she walked into the main room of the suite, "Blood and bones, I am starving! Let's go and get something to eat."

"That's a new one." Rebecca remarked.

"Davy Jones' influence seeping through probably." the Campione replied flippantly.

The Negresco Hotel was also the site of the famous restaurant Le Chantecler. Jean hadn't ever treated herself to a meal out at anything more expensive than a Subway or, at the very most, a Wetherspoon's meal. Thus, she was utterly baffled by the fancy menus and the sheer selection available, for what she calculated was quite a hefty price, although she was rubbish at converting Pounds to Euros and back.

"That wasn't too bad." Jean said judiciously after finishing some sort of fancy fish in white sauce, "It was all rather rich, but it was nice to eat somewhere fancy for a change."

"I agree." Rebecca nodded, "It's a nice change to not have to cook or wash up afterwards. Unfortunately, now we have to deal with something less than pleasant…politics."

The Scotch girl groaned. "Ohhhh…fiddlesticks. Just what I didn't need. Who and why?"

"The Great Knight and Paladin of the Order of Crossed Swords wish to congratulate you on your victory." Rebecca replied as she swirled wine around her glass, "Underneath it, I'm fairly certain they want to hurry you out of France ASAP, especially the Paladin. He's…very much a politician, one who craves stability…"

"…which is the opposite of what a Campione brings to the table." Jean finished with a sigh, "Terrific. Well, we'd better get it over and done with. Where to?"

"They'll come to us, like last time." Rebecca replied, "In about half an hour, once I give them a call to let them know you'll be available for an audience. This will allow us the chance to get you into some fresh clothes and set the room up nicely."

"You are enjoying this far too much, 'Becca." Jean accused her playfully.

"What can I say? I'm a regular Hearth Witch." Rebecca replied mischievously, "The chance to see a pair of high-and-mighty Knights bow and scrape to someone isn't something someone of my rank gets to see very often."

Jean shook her head in amusement. "Well, you might become somewhat bored with it if you stick around with me."

"I doubt it." the Hearth Witch retorted as she stood up, "Being bored isn't a common occurrence around a Campione…any of them."

"Nice to know I have something going for me then." Jean remarked as she also stood up, "I would so hate to be boring."

This earned her a giggle from her friend as they returned to their suite of rooms to prepare for the arrival of the Order of the Crossed Swords. There wasn't actually much to prepare, what with the fact they had little to work with, but they did, at the very least manage to put jean in a clean set of her 'Campione clothes' and requisition a throne-like chair from the special Very Very Important Person's area that the hotel had on the fifth floor.

They had just finished placing three additional chairs before Jean's makeshift throne when not three but eight magical persons approaching the room tripped Rebecca's wards.

"Eight?" Jean frowned, "Seriously? Did they say that they would be bringing a guard of some sort?"

"No, but they also didn't say that they wouldn't be." Rebecca sighed, "Penny for a Pound says that this is an intimidation tactic, a petty power play on the part of the Paladin's to display that he has more people at his beck and call than you do."

"That's just stupid." Jean said bemusedly, "I only became a Campione three or four days ago. Obviously, I don't have anyone but you as my subordinate. Is this guy really that petty?"

"Apparently so." Rebecca grimaced, "It might also be a threat against me. All of those who are coming are at least Knights and are thus stronger than me."

This made the Scottish girl scowl. "Now that just isn't on. Unlatch the door and get over beside me so they can't physically do anything to you."

Rebecca noted the cold tone of her King's voice and did as she was bid. She found it odd that she was seeing Jean as two different people; Jean, her friend, and Jean, her King. The newest Campione flitted between those two personae as the situation dictated the necessity of doing so, and the English witch finally realised one way that Jean was coping with her new status.

She was creating a mask.

It wasn't entirely without precedent. A little known secret in the Witenagemot was that John Pluto Smith, the Masked Campione, was in fact a young woman named Annie Charlton. Jean's was subtler than that though. 'John Pluto Smith' was a transformation created via an Authority from an Aztec Heretic God, while Jean's mask was that of personality traits that people generally associated with Campione. Very mild ones at that, because Jean wasn't really an overt tyrant, like Voban or Luo Cuilian.

Instead, she was a benevolent tyrant, like King Kusanagi and the Black Prince Alec. Better still, Jean recognised that she was, in fact, a tyrant. This made her better than Alec and Kusanagi, who outright denied being tyrants of any shape or size. She would honestly regret doing something to stamp down on people questioning her authority, but she would do it nevertheless.

"Here they come." Rebecca whispered to Jean as the eight signatures passed the emergency wards that she had set up at the end of the corridor leading to the Royal Suite.

"Showtime." Jean muttered. She breathed in and then let out a long breath, just before a loud and heavy knock struck the door, swinging it open to reveal a very surprised Jacques Bonaparte, flanked on one side by Great Knight Françoise Dubois and by Michelle LaClerc on the other.

"Ah, Monsieur Bonaparte." Jean said as she looked pointedly at the clock on the wall, "You are five minutes late. Do try to be punctual in future."

To judge by the rapidly reddening of his face, Jean would have to guess that he hadn't been reprimanded like this in quite some time. Ah well.

"My…apologies, Your Majesty." Jacques forced the words out, "May we come in?"

"The three I see, yes. The other five can remain outside." Jean replied, "We don't have the seating capabilities for more than three of you."

"That is perfectly fine." Françoise put in before giving her superior a pointed look that made him shut his mouth with an audible click.

As the three Knights entered the room, Rebecca noted to herself that they were all wearing clothes that allowed a great deal of freedom of movement. Surely, they weren't going to try to actually attack a Campione? To try to do so would be the height of folly for anyone but another Campione.

'Except that this Campione has no organisation to back her up, and her only subordinate is a nigh-powerless Hearth Witch!' she realised in slight horror. That had to be their plan; grab her and use her as a hostage against Jean.

The daring of the plan was only outclassed by the inevitable fallout when Jean got her free and wreaked her vengeance upon the Order of Crossed Swords. Rebecca could just picture Jean standing surrounded by the beaten bodies of the entirety of the Order, rage flowing off her like water.

Surreptitiously shuffling back and to the side so Jean was somewhat between herself and the Knights, Rebecca palmed her wand and stood ready to defend herself.

Jean noticed her subordinate's actions and decided to not draw attention to them, as she wouldn't act in such a fashion without good reason. Waving the Knights into the seats provided, she waited until everyone was settled before launching the opening salvo.

"Well then, now that you have actually arrived, can you tell me what is so important that it cannot wait until I have fully rested from fighting the Seaman's Devil?" she asked as she pretended to examine her fingernails.

Her passive-aggressive question made the Great Knight flush in embarrassment, while the Paladin and his niece merely looked like she had farted in public.

"We are the local mage association and have jurisdiction here, your majesty." the Paladin said pompously.

"I am a Campione. That trumps any claims of jurisdiction." Jean countered flatly, "If anything, you should be following my orders as opposed to the other way around. I can understand that my elder brother Doni will have made a bad impression on you, but please keep in mind that I was a normal human until four days ago, so I am not an idiot like him. Do not treat me like one."

After spluttering for a moment, Jacques said, "V-Very well. The reason we wished to see you is to enquire how long you will be staying in la Belle France."

"Unknown." Jean replied, "I have not slept and thus have not spoken with Mother Pandora about if there are any other Heretic Gods she wishes me to intercept. I would hope that defeating a Heretic God well away from civilisation and without any collateral damage to people or property would persuade you to at least let me have a night's sleep before trying to usher me away."

"Of course we are grateful to you for what you have done, your majesty." Françoise said hastily, "It's just that the King of Swords has claimed Southern France as his 'hunting grounds' so to speak and he will doubtlessly be…irked…that you have 'poached' on his claimed territory."

"Well that's wrinkle I didn't expect." Jean muttered, "He lives in Italy, if memory serves?"

"Yes Your Majesty." the female Great Knight replied respectfully, "The head of his Mage Association tries to keep him under control, but Lord Salvatore is…persistent."

"I have heard that about my brother." Jean said delicately, "As I said though, until I have a chance to consult with Mother Pandora, I have no plans to leave Nice. Even if I did, it wouldn't be until tomorrow, at the earliest."

"So…you do not plan on contesting Lord Salvatore's right to have Southern France?" the Paladin asked hopefully.

"All I was hoping was that I could have a relaxing day sunbathing tomorrow." Jean said testily, "I am already going to have to fight Alec at some point. I do not need one of my other brothers bearing a grudge against me while I am in the middle of a struggle with one already. I am the youngest Campione and would not stand a chance against two of my brothers attacking me in concert."

"I severely doubt any Campione would be able to withstand two other Campione attacking them at once, my liege." Rebecca pointed out.

"Rebecca. What would you recommend I do here?" Jean asked as she eyed the Paladin mistrustfully.

"I can understand how the Order of Crossed Swords must be concerned about what the King of Swords will do when he discovers your actions here." the Hearth Witch said diplomatically, "Nevertheless, you have been impolite and borderline demanding upon my King since we arrived here. It is not up to you to make demands of a Rakshasa Raja; consider yourselves thankful that my King is a benevolent ruler. I believe, your majesty, that waiting until you receive proper instructions from Lady Pandora would be proper."

"Thank you Rebecca." the Scottish Campione inclined her head, "your council is as wise as ever."

Turning back to the three French mages, Jean allowed a grim smile to cross her face. "As to the Order…I must confess that your First Knight here rubbed me the wrong way, but it is my understanding that she hasn't been in the presence of a Campione before me, correct?"

"That is the case, your majesty." Jacques looked nervously between Jean and his niece worriedly.

"As I said to her when last we met, she was fortunate that it was me she was disrespectful to." Jean locked eyes with the Paladin as she spoke, "Almost every other Campione would have been far harsher to her than I was. With her, I am inclined to be lenient. You, Paladin Bonaparte, on the other hand know better."

The moment of silence after her words was fraught with tension emanating from the Paladin and his niece. Jean waited until the tension reached a peak before going on.

"As a result, I have decided that you shall forfeit the S.S. Pucelle to me as a punishment for your rudeness."

"Th-that's my retirement ship!" Jacques spluttered in protest.

"Your ship or your position, Paladin. Which will it be?" Jean asked bluntly, "One is replaceable; the other is not. Choose carefully."

With a growl, the Paladin slumped in his seat. "Fine. Take it, dammit."

"Wise choice." Jean said coolly, "I believe that is everything. You can see yourselves out."

As the three Knights left the room, Rebecca could almost feel the anger emanating from Jacques Bonaparte and his niece as they walked.

Once the door was not quite slammed shut, the Hearth Witch turned to her King. "That was well done, although I don't think Bonaparte or LaClerc will be friends of yours any time soon."

"I know, but there wasn't really much choice in the matter for me." Jean sighed, "I can't let these people think that they can walk all over me or that they can disrespect me without any consequences to them. Bad enough that rich brat sassed me once; if I didn't show her that even her influential uncle has to bow to me, she'd get cocky again."

"Preaching to the choir here, Jean." the Hearth Witch said wryly, "I think they would have grabbed me if they could have. Good call leaving the door open and letting me hide behind you."

The Scotch girl snorted rudely. "Hah! I knew that they were plotting something when they brought eight people to a meeting that was only supposed to have three, excluding you and me. Figures it would be something stupid like that. Suicidal much?"

"Desperate most likely." Rebecca countered as she grabbed a chair and sat down on it, "Doni really tore the place up when he fought Dionysus. If two Campione clash, the result would be much worse, so I can see why they want you out of here ASAP."

The redhead snorted again in dissatisfaction. Yet again, she was being treated like a disaster waiting to happen.

Almost as if she were reading her mind, Rebecca gave Jean a sad smile. "I know it isn't your fault and this must be disturbing for you, but sadly, this is what it is like to be a Campione."

"I know. I guess…I guess it just didn't sink in until now." Jean said quietly, "I'm…going to go to bed. I need to speak to Mother Pandora."

"I'll contact Princess Alice and let her know about Davy Jones and your [Divine Sensing] ability." Rebecca replied softly, "Don't worry, my king. All will be well while you slumber."

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Same Time

The Home of Godō Kusanagi, Japan

"What is it that needs me to be woken up so late, Amakasu-san?" the Seventh Campione asked the 'ninja' member of the History Compilation Committee, the Mage Association that controlled the magic users in Japan.

They were standing outside Godō's home, which was unusual. Normally when Amakasu wanted to tell him something, he was called to Mariya Yuri's shrine.

"I am sorry, Kusanagi-sama, but this news is urgent." the man replied, "You are aware, of course, that there is now an Eighth Campione in the world?"

"Hai, I felt them being reborn into the world four days ago or so." the Japanese teenager nodded.

"The Committee was just informed by sources in France that the new Campione has slain another Heretic God." Amakasu said seriously, "In fact, from what little we have been able to gather, she purposefully set out to slay the Heretic God."

This sent chills down Godō's spine. He had met four of his seven 'colleagues' since becoming a Campione and all of them were, for lack of a better term, insane. Doni was a fighting fool, Voban was a battle-crazy old man, Luo Cuilian had a god complex and John Pluto Smith was just weird.

"How did she track down a Heretic God?" he asked quietly as he looked around to make sure his younger sister Shizuka wasn't around. She didn't know about his status as a Campione and he intended for her to remain ignorant of the fact.

"Rumour has it that she can recall what happens in the Netherworld with perfect clarity." the man replied, "Thus it seems likely that the Goddess Pandora told her of it."

"Pandora…" Godō whispered, a faint memory of a purple-haired girl rising in his memory, "But why would she help the new Campione?"

"To be fair, she can't exactly help you if you cannot recall meeting her in the Netherworld." Amakasu pointed out, "But again, rumours say that she claims to have the closest relationship with Pandora, even going so far as to refer to her as 'Mother Pandora' on several occasions."

"What on…" Godō shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't imagine referring to a goddess as 'mother' and he had the feeling that Pandora had asked him to call her that at some point.

"There is one further piece of information that is worrisome." the ninja said calmly, "Apparently, nobody knows what the Heretic God she slew to become a Campione is. It is a complete mystery."

"No one knows?!" That just seemed colossally unfair to Godō, as everyone knew the two deities he had slain. The Persian God of Victory, Verethragna, and the Divine Sword of Susano'o, the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi.

"I misspoke just now." Amakasu said with a frown, "At least two people know. Princess Alice, the Speaker of the Greenwich Witenagemot and a member of the Witenagemot who the new Campione took with her. I suspect that the Eighth Campione is trying to keep her initial Authority as close to a secret for as long as is possible. Why, I have no idea."

"Could she know about my [Golden Sword] Authority?" Godō mused. The [Warrior] Aspect of Verethragna's [Ten Incarnations] manifested itself as a golden sword that could cut through the divinity of a Heretic God or the Divine Authority of a Campione. The only problem was, he had to have a certain amount of knowledge about the god in question in order to activate it.

The man in front of him nodded slowly at the Seventh Campione's reasoning. "That would make sense, but it implies that she plans to attack you at some point."

"Considering three out of the four Campione I have met have attacked me, it isn't that much of a shock." Godō replied with a snort, "The only question is why me in particular? Doni, Alec and Voban are closer than I am."

"You are only slightly older than the Eighth Campione and are thus closer in experience and power to her." Amakasu suggested, "You would be the logical target from the standpoint that she wishes to test her power against one of her fellow Campione and have a chance of winning."

"I am a pacifist!" the Seventh Campione reiterated for what felt like the nth time, "I do not want to fight!"

"With all due respect, that doesn't prevent you from defending yourself." the ninja pointed out, "Against Melqart, Doni, and Athena…against all of them, you fought back in self-defence. This will simply be another instance of it."

Godō groaned at that. This was only going to add fuel to the fire in regards to his 'mistresses' and their arguments for him to start up his own Mage Association.

This made him freeze for a moment. "Do Erica and the others know about this?" he asked.

"I know that Yuri-sama and Ena-sama know, because I informed them." Amakasu replied, "I imagine Erica-sama and Liliana-sama have been informed by the Copper-Black Cross and Bronze Black Cross by now."

This made another groan emerge from the Campione. "My everyday life is going to be sooooo messed up thanks to the new Campione…what's her name anyway?"

"Ah…I believe she is called Jean Campbell, your majesty." Amakasu replied, "She is Scottish and is an orphan. Would you like me to compile a dossier on her?"

At this, Godō hesitated. He knew that if Erica or any of the others caught wind of him ordering such an investigation, they would accuse him of going for another woman, which he wasn't. On the other hand, knowing about this new Campione would be useful to determine what made her tick, something that had been denied to him about every other Campione.

"Do it." he found himself saying, "But do not let Erica and the others find out about it. That's an order."

Amakasu bowed slightly. "As you command, Kusanagi-sama."

With that, the ninja faded into the night, leaving Godō to wonder exactly what he had gotten himself into this time.

In the Netherworld…

Jean found herself sneezing as she woke up lying on the ground in the completely white landscape of the Netherworld. Odd. Could you even get sick in the Netherworld?

"Daughter, it is good to see you again." a familiar voice said. Jean sat up and smiled at the purple-haired woman that was her adoptive mother, Pandora.

"Mother Pandora. It is good to see you also." Jean said, "As requested, the Heretic God Davy Jones has been slain."

"That's my girl." Pandora said with a bright smile, before she looked around quickly, "Oh? Visitors."

Jean turned around to see two people standing a couple of meters away. One was a woman with pale, almost clear eyes and flaxen hair, while the other was a muscled man with wild hair.

"My, my. So this is the fourth daughter of yours that you have been boasting of, Pandora-sama." the woman said with a smile.

"Indeed, Princess with Glass Eyes." Pandora replied with pride in her voice, "My Eighth child in the last millennium and the only one since I married Epimetheus who has acknowledge me as her mother. Daughter, this is the Princess with Glass Eyes, the ancestress of all Hime-Miko, and Susano'o, a former Heretic God and the Japanese God of Tempestuous Storms and Valour."

"A former Heretic God?" Jean had to question that part.

"Yep. I'm retired now." the man chuckled, "Unless ya wanna test me…?"

The aura of power that the God extruded as he spoke made Jean leap to her feet and stand between Pandora and Susano'o, emitting her own aura as the [Tríaina] appeared in her hand ready for combat.

After a tense moment, Susano'o relaxed, dissipating his aura. "Enough. Like I said, I'm retired."

Jean relaxed as well, but still kept her trident out, just to be safe.

"Susano'o, you tried that with Godō and he almost attacked you with his [Golden Sword]." the Princess scolded the God like a housewife.

"Alright, I get it already." the man grumbled.

Sighing, Pandora waved a hand at Jean, dismissing her trident almost negligently. "Enough of that, daughter. Susano'o wouldn't dare attack you or me, not in my own section of the Netherworld, especially since we are allies of a sort."

"Allies? Against who?" Jean asked, a bit shocked that her Authority had been…not dispersed, but totally shut down. She could feel the [Tríaina] Authority within her, but it was like it was frozen and she couldn't so much as touch it. In fact, she couldn't access any of her Authorities.

"That is why am glad you can remember what happens in the Netherworld while you are awake, my daughter." Pandora said seriously, "Because I can tell you what I can of it. I cannot tell you everything because of an ancient compact, but I will tell you what I can. Now sit down next to your mother."

"Yes, mother." Jean said with a nod, "Can you please unfreeze my Authorities though?"

"Ah, sorry." her mother said and waved her hand at Jean again.

"Thank you." The Scots girl said as she felt her access to her Authorities open up again. She walked over and sat next to Pandora, while Susano'o and the Princess with Glass Eyes sat opposite mother and daughter.

"Now then." Pandora said, "Have you ever wondered daughter? Why it is that less than ten Campione exist in a world full of mages and witches?"

"Well…yes, I suppose." Jean said slowly, "Given that Witches can slow down their aging process and being a Campione grants extreme longevity, the fact that there aren't more of us around is…puzzling."

"I have adopted over three hundred children, daughter." Pandora said quietly, "Dating back to when I first married my husband, I have adopted every Campione ever born. And almost every single one of my children has been murdered by a being called the King Who Manifests at the World's End, a Heretic God who specialises in slaying Campione."

Jean gasped. "But…how? Who is this Heretic God?"

"That's one of the things we cannot tell you." Susano'o said sourly, "Believe me, if I could, I'd tell you who he is and what his abilities are. Unfortunately, that damn compact prevents us from doing so."

"The King awakens roughly once every thousand years, slays all Campione and Heretic Gods on the planet and then falls into his slumber once again." the Princess stated, "It causes Pandora great anguish to lose her children, even if none of them acknowledge her as their mother."

"Now that I have a child who acknowledges me as such, I am even less inclined than before to allow that…beast of a God to kill my children." Pandora said with a ferocious scowl, "As you are the only one who can remember anything from these meetings, I must ask you to aid me in stopping the King from rising. Will you aid me daughter?"

"Of course." Jean nodded, "I don't especially want to die, so what is it you would like me to do, mother?"

"You need to get a larger variety of Authorities." Pandora said bluntly, "The King currently slumbers in Japan, where my youngest son resides. Godō is disinclined to take up the proper mantle of a Campione under his false pacifism, and I need you to beat some sense into him. Unfortunately, his [Golden Sword] Authority can sever the divinity of a god, and it can even be adjusted to cut through a second god's divinity as long as the two share enough characteristics."

"Damn. Both Poseidon and Davy Jones are Sea Gods of one form or another, so he'd be able to use that to stop me." Jean said in frustration.

"That doesn't even begin to take into account the other Authorities granted by his defeat of the Invincible Warlord, Verethragna." the Princess put in, "And Susano'o's own Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi is capable of a great deal in its own right."

"Question here: Are Godō's Authorities from Verethragna all the same Authority, or are they ten different Authorities?" Jean asked.

"The answer is that they are a bit of both." Pandora explained, "All of them are linked by Verethragna's origin, yet separate enough to count as separate Authorities. A consolation is that each Authority is slightly weaker than other Campione's Authorities because of Verethragna's power being spread over so many abilities. Poseidon's five Authorities do not have that problem as there are only five of them and four of them are dependent on the [Tríaina] Authority for actualisation."

"Yeah…why did I get all of Poseidon's Authorities?" the Scot questioned her mother, "I thought the rule of thumb was one God defeated, one Authority gained?"

"Two reasons." Pandora replied, "That first meeting we had took less than a second in the real world, in between your death as a human and your rebirth as a Campione. As you fully accepted me as your mother, I was able to grant you more Authorities than normal. The other reason is the wishes of Poseidon himself."

"Huh?"

"Do you not recall Poseidon's last words to you?" the Princess asked Jean.

"'Mortal, I leave to you all that I am! Let nothing bind you ever again, until the day comes that I return to this world and challenge you as one King to another!'" Jean quoted with a stunned expression, "You mean…?"

"Yup. He willed you his power as he returned to the Domain of Immortality." Pandora smirked, "Consider yourself honoured. Only three gods before Poseidon have will their entirety to the one who defeated them, including Verethragna."

"I am." Jean shook her head in disbelief.

"Anyway, the upshot is that you need several Authorities to deal with the Kusanagi brat." Susano'o said gruffly, "Luckily, there seems to be a large amount of Gods breaking free of their legends these days. Not to mention that damned Wisdom Goddess that the Kusanagi brat has a love/hate relationship with."

"Huh?" Once again, Jean was puzzled.

"Heretic Goddess Athena." Pandora stated, "Unfortunately, because of her rivalry in legend with Poseidon, it seems likely she will go after you."

"Great." Jean groused, "She probably knows Poseidon's Authorities inside and out, so they're useless against her."

"She will know quite a bit about them, but they are still powerful Authorities." Susano'o countered, "Anyway, you have to remove Athena from play."

Before Jean could ask why, Pandora said, "The servants of the King awaken him by offering the essences of Mother Earth Goddesses -like Athena- to the Holy Grail, which in turn empowers the Divine Sword of Salvation, his weapon. Well, 'Divine Sword of Salvation' isn't its real name, but I can't tell you what it was originally called, dratted compact."

"So by defeating Athena before she can be offered to the Grail, we slow the awakening of the King." Jean reasoned, "OK, I'm good with that. But I have to get away from France first before Doni comes and attacks me for poaching."

"Ah…the True Son of Epimetheus." Susano'o nodded, "He would not be a good opponent for you right now."

"I am trying to avoid conflict with my siblings until I have more experience and Authorities." Jean said indignantly, "Alec is trying to oust me from my home though! Moreover, I can't help it if I poached Doni's territory because it was Mother Pandora's wish for me to defeat Davy Jones. Besides, he wouldn't have been able to fight the Seaman's Devil with anything except [Divine Confusion]."

"Ah-ah-ah. Do not underestimate an opponent like Doni." the Storm God cautioned the Campione, "Ask your librarian friend about his Authorities when you wake up. He may specialise in swords, but he isn't limited to them."

"OK." Jean shrugged, "So where should I head next, mother?"

"Head north…go to Rouen." Pandora said with a smile, "Now, shouldn't you ask the Princess the question you've been wanting to ask her since I introduced her?"

"…am I that transparent?" Jean asked sheepishly.

"I am your mother, dear." the All-Knowing Woman chided her.

Jean chuckled in an embarrassed way and turned to the Princess with Glass Eyes. "I have been told that I have an ability that is usually associated with Hime-Miko, [Divine Sensing]. Was I a Hime-Miko before I became a Campione?"

"Hold still." the Princess told her as she reached over to Jean and touched her forehead. When the red hair of the Eighth Campione turned flaxen, the watching deities knew that Jean Campbell is indeed of Hime-Miko descent.

"Wow…this feels weird." Jean said as she picked up her ponytail and looked at it in bemusement.

"The fact your hair changed and not your eyes means that you are a very distant descendent of a Hime-Miko bloodline." the flaxen-haired ancestress stated, "Sadly, you will not develop any further skills that my other descendents normally would because of that. On the bright side, it means you can master [Divine Sensing] much quicker than normal."

"I was told that my youngest brother has the only Hime-Miko with a similar ability in his service. Is that true?" Jean asked.

"Indeed. Yuri Mariya is one of my strongest descendents, as evidenced by her weak body." the Princess stated, "May I ask why you wish to know about her?"

"Is it possible for her to help me learn about my [Divine Sensing] ability?" Jean asked carefully.

The Princess considered this for a moment. "Up to a point, yes. She can teach you how to connect to your magic in general and your Hime-Miko ability specifically, but [Divine Sensing] and [Spirit Vision] are two different abilities, so she cannot help you with how your power works. Time, experience and experimentation are the only solutions to that, I am afraid."

"Figured as much." Jean said with a chuckle before her hair reverted to normal and her body started to fade, signalling that her time in the Netherworld was up.

"I look forward to having you report your next victory, my daughter." Pandora tells her as she fades away, "I am very proud of you, so keep up the good work!"

The last thing the Goddess and Mother of Campione saw of her youngest child was the face-splitting smile she wore.

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Next Chapter: Pursuit by the King of Swords

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