It sits in the family

by Flagarach

Though luck, will and sheer determination Kusanagi Shizuka managed to slay a deity, becoming the eighth godslayer in the process. Now she is forced to deal with mages, heretic gods and fellow Campione. But most importantly, can she keep her new-found powers a secret from her totally not also a Campione brother?

2. Arc 1-2:

Netherworld

How early… humans have really become amazing these days.

Pandora, 'witch goddess that knows all' and 'mother of the god-slayers', looks at her youngest child with curiosity. It's been only six months since her seventh child, her fourth son known as Kusanagi Godou, slayed his first god and became her child. She expected that there wouldn't be a new child of her for at least a few years, but to think that another is born within half a year! How early! How special!

She examines her newborn child: A daughter, which puts her total amount of children back at the balanced number of four sons and four daughters. She also looks quite young: twelve, thirteen, perhaps fourteen if a bit small for her age. Usually her children are reborn between their fifteen and twentieth year.

But oh well, Pandora doesn't care for such trifle details. Seeing one of her children is always an immense joy, something that usually only happens twice, maybe thrice a year.

"Hoho, to think that the mother earth goddess of the east has been slain. Ah, you did well, my newest child. How long ago was it that there were eight Campione at the same time?" Reminiscing about the past Pandora remembers some of her deceased children, those that existed a long time ago. "It was a thousand years ago, was it not? Would that mean that that powerful [Steel] will wake up soon? Hopefully at least some of my children will survive this time…"

Thoughts about what is yet to come will have to wait, Pandora's child is about to wake up. Placing herself next to Shizuka's body she starts the chant for her most famous and influential authority:

"The dark ritual that gives birth to the illegitimate child of a fool and a witch. A rite of usurpation made possible by the sacrifice of a god and oneself. All conditions have been met. Grant your blessings and your hatred on my kid, the newest Campione. Possessing the destiny of the youngest devil king, please bestow the sacred spell words on this kid!"

Opening her eyes Shizuka sees a world full of grey. Literally grey, a monotonous world where sky and ground are indistinguishable, a complete void of nothing but grey. Well, nothing except for that girl sitting next to her.

Shizuka tries to get up, but her body does not agree with that action. It's as if every motion of her body will disrupt her existence, so on pure instinct it will not move. It isn't helped by the nausea she is feeling; it's comparable to carsickness, only worse.

The only thing that Shizuka seems to be able to do is move her mouth and speak. Having nothing better to do she starts to talk with the only other person there:

"Who are you?"

Bowing over Shizuka the strange woman introduces herself as Pandora, the legendary goddess who brought all curses and hopes in the world. "I descended from the domain of immortality to this place with the express intent of meeting my daughter."

Another goddess? It sounds absurd, but considering that Shizuka still has some figments left of fighting that [Mother goddess of Earth and Creation], it sounds believable. However, this is the first time she hears of direct familial relationships between divine beings. Sure, that other woman was both wife and daughter but that was simply rewritten history, not an actual bond between true parent and child. Another intriguing question is that as far as her knowledge of Greek myth goes Pandora never had any children. "Where's your daughter then?"

"Do you see anyone other than you here? I'm talking about you, silly!"

Really, there are so many things wrong with this idea. Since when is Pandora responsible for taking in random human kids and making them her children? Shizuka can almost see her father stand up against this woman for taking his 'dearest daughter' away. "If you want one of my kids, take my useless son instead!", he would say while protesting loudly.

"Huh." But whether or not she somehow became the child of Pandora is not really that important. It won't change much about the situation anyways. It's more important to learn about her current location and surroundings:

"So, where are we exactly? This doesn't look a lot like earth."

"Correct. This place is known as [The Domain between Life and Immortality], but you might know it better as 'right before the afterlife'."

"So does that mean that I died?"

"Yes, that's right. You fought a goddess, and died in the process."

"Ah." Well, that sucks. Shizuka didn't expect that she would die this early. "However, Pandora-san, the-"

"That's not how you call your dear mother!" Pandora interrupts loudly, not liking that she is called as if she is a stranger. "Call me mama, maman, mutti, mommy, whatever you prefer to call me. I'm your mother after all!"

"So… mother…" Shizuka finds slight difficulty to spit those words out. To call Pandora as intimately as mama is impossible, the formal mother seems to be the best she can do. "About what I was asking earlier, if I really died then why am I still stuck between life and death right here? Did you somehow mess with my reincarnation?"

"Something like that, yes. The reason this is all happening is because you managed to slay a deity. Remember that goddess you fought? During your fight with her you two caused mutually assured destruction of one another."

"And let me guess, humans who commit deicide will be pulled from the cycle of rebirth to spend their afterlife as the children of Pandora?"

"Half points, dear, but you're quite close!" Pandora admits, pointing up a finger as she goes into lecturing mode: "You indeed become my child, but you won't be spending your time here in the afterlife. After all, the curse placed upon you will revive you in a few moments. You return to the living and absorb the power of the god you have slain. You will stand at the pinnacle of all magi, and become known as a godslayer, a Campione!" Each word is spoken with more and more bravado, as if building up to the apex of a play. "You will become one of my children, and live a tale more epic than the myths of old!"

"That sounds like some bad B-rated novel idea someone came up with on a whim."

"Well, it might sound so, but I assure you that it is all real." Though Pandora has to admit that that does sound quite nice. Perhaps the story of a young guy who became a Campione through circumstance and tries to balance between normal life and his royal duties would make for a good boo-hang on, isn't that just her dear Godou? Wait, is there a book about him? Questions, questions...

Questions that the goddess does not have the time to be thinking about right now! Pandora mentally slaps herself on the cheeks and continues to have a lively chat with her child: "But apart from that, all obligations you have to your dear maman is to live a nice and interesting life! Ah, though it would be nice if you could be friends with your brothers and sisters."

"Brothers and sisters?" Shizuka asks in surprise. On second thought it actually makes a lot of sense: If gods do exist, then the act of killing one should've been performed before too. The main question is how many other godslayers are there?

"Yep, your older brothers and sisters. You have three older sisters and four older brothers, spread over the entire world. Each of you has slain a god, and taken their powers for themselves. Their relationships are… complicated. Some have bonds of sworn siblinghood, others are just friends, some ignore each other's existence, and a few want nothing more than to fight each other to the death."

"Sounds like a healthy family… mother." Shizuka says sarcastically, still having a hard time spitting out that last word. Suddenly calling Pandora mother is still very awkward. Perhaps it gets better with time.

On the subject of Shizuka's new family, they sound like people from all ends of the spectrum of humanity. There's really not much to say about them now, but a hunch tells her that they are only going to cause trouble and Shizuka will have to pull them back in line. This means that the number of troublemakers Shizuka will have to deal with in her life has increased from two to nine, what a bother.

"Fufu, my dear children all have a very lively and interesting personality, so naturally some of them will be a bit weird. But I assure you that I love each and every one of them, including you…" At this moment Pandora falls silent, realizing that she completely forgot to use the void to figure out the name of her newest child. How stupid of her! Before her newest child can find out this sloppy mistake of Pandora the goddess uses her authority to search for the missing name.

Two seconds or so were needed to find the name. Kusanagi Shizuka, Japanese. Family…

"Pfft." Pandora figured it out as she now tries to hold back her laughter, without success. "Hahahaha!"

Shizuka simply looks at Pandora and wonders why she suddenly started to laugh out loud. "What's so funny?" She asks to her new mother.

"Remem…Remember what I said about tho-cough-those siblings of yours, and how you had to treat them as your brothers and sisters? I neve-hahaha, I guess you have to take that a little bit more literally! Ahahaha! My sides, my sides!"

As Pandora continues to bend over from laughter Shizuka examines the words spoken. Literally treat them as brothers and sisters? What does she mean by th-Oooh. Shizuka's eyes go wide open as she realizes what Pandora implies.

That can't be! He… did Godou… "Do you mean to say that…"

"Yep, Kusanagi Godou is also my child! This is the first time I've seen a literal set of siblings both become Campione. Congratulations Shizuka, you've written history!"

"O you've got to be kidding me."

"Too bad for you, I'm really not joking around! Godou slew the god Verethragna last spring, and became my seventh child."

Last spring? Isn't that when Erica and the other girls got in his life, and when he… "Onii-chan! I can't believe it, was your claim of pacifism all a lie? To misuse your status to gain a harem, you're the worst kind of person in existence! I'll give you a good lecture after I return to earth!"

Meanwhile back on earth Godou feels a shiver down his spine, his instincts telling him that something really bad is going to happen.

But that isn't what he should be focusing on. Now he must give it his all to fight the remains of true lord Erlang, which can only be done by abandoning the [Sword] and combining Ame no Murakamo with the [Raptor].

As the fight on earth rages on the rage in the netherworld can easily lead to a fight, as Shizuka is rather angry with her brother. His slaying of a god, while stupid, cannot really be judged as wrong since Shizuka did the same. His perverse lust of gathering a harem with his newfound powers, even if he denies it? That has to be rectified.

"Onii-chan, when I come back I believe I need to teach you a harsh lesson or two. Unlike you I don't plan on misusing my powers against humanity, but against a devil king like you I'm certain I can use some of my new powers!"

"Well, I'm afraid you need to remember that knowledge first."

Remember? She knows it right now, why should she need to remember it? Shizuka asks for the meaning of Pandora's words, and her dear maman is willing to answer.

"You see, since you are still transitioning from a normal human to a Campione your memories of events in the netherworld are messy. Perhaps if you return here after becoming a full-fletched Campione you might recall these events, but unless you go kzzzt for this realm or obtain some sort of resurrection ability like kzzzt it might take quite some time to return here."

Parts of the conversation became static, forming gibberish Shizuka cannot understand. At the same moment her vision starts to pixelate, as if she is staring at some old video game. "Wait… what did you say?"

One of the last few things that Shizuka can make out with her vision is the saddened face of Pandora. "Ah, it seems that timkzzzt afraid that this is goodbye for now. Kzzzt good time, and don't be too harsh on kzzzt!"

Shizuka feels her connection with this plane disappear. She loses her means of interfering with this realm: no more words can come out of her mouth, and neither ears nor eyes register anything anymore. As the memories of this talk turn into a scattered mess that cannot be recalled back on earth she feels herself being pulled back to her home planet.

-x-

Fourth of November, late evening.

"Ugh…" Shizuka's memories are foggy as she wakes up. Opening her eyes she quickly realizes that that action was a mistake. Immediately she closes them so that she can only watch the blinding light from between the slits of her eyes. Where is this place? Heaven? For some reason she can remember something like dying…

Her eyes still adjusting to the new light source she quickly figures out that no, this is not heaven. The bright light comes from a lamp, and the people in white uniforms walking around seem to indicate that this place is a hospital.

Hold on, not a hospital. If the drab green walls that are made of cloth are anything to go by this seems more like something used by the Japanese Self Defense Force, a field hospital.

Yes, it does seem more like that. There are indeed a few nurses in white but most of the people walking around are dressed in military uniforms.

Shizuka ponders about why she is here. Slowly the memories are coming back, although there are some inconsistencies: As ridiculous as it sounds she remembers having her arm bitten off by a gigantic snake, alongside many other wounds. However, right here in the hospital she looks unharmed with both arms still firmly attached. Not a single wound that had been inflicted during that fight can be traced back, no damage is visible on her body.

Was it all a dream? Did the hallucinations overwhelm her and make her faint in the snow? It sounds right, logical even, but there's something wrong with that.

If all that happened are these hallucinations, and nothing else occurred… then why is she in a field hospital?

These buildings are used in emergency situations when there is not enough room in the hospitals around a disaster area to take care of all the wounded. Just a hallucination would have had her end up in a normal hospital bed, not this place. That means something else must have happened.

"Ah, Kusanagi-chan, you're finally awake! You've been sleeping for more than a day now!" Still pondering over the truth Shizuka hears a familiar voice next to her. On the bed next to her lies her classmate Teshigahara Saya, her left leg in a plaster. Her smile is as bright as ever, but something feels off about it.

"Yes, it certainly appears so. For some reason I don't know we both ended up in a field hospital. Would you care to enlighten me, Teshigahara-san?"

"Well, I've been told that an earthquake of magnitude eight on the scale of Richter caused a massive outbreak of avalanches. The entirety of this district suffered from a natural disaster, killing more than a thousand people…" Her smile isn't bright anymore. Now it is filled with sorrow and blame.

Shizuka understands. She gets a feeling why Saya is so down. "How many of our class died?"

"Natsumi-chan… Ikari-kun… neither of them survived. I… I saw their dead bodies when they were carried away. The only ones I'm sure of that survived are you, me and Takagawa-kun who lies in the tent next to us with a broken arm. The others I haven't seen yet."

"Ah, I see. That's sad to hear." Well, it's to be expected. Natural disasters always carry risk with them. If you're in the vicinity of one you can expect death to follow close by. "Anyhow, this seems to be a ward for lightly injured people, correct?" The people on this block seem to have at worst some non-threatening condition like broken bones or non-threatening cuts.

"Yes. The people with important injuries are in the hospitals being treated by specialists, and the lesser injured were taken to the tents regulated by the army. Looking at you I think you might be dismissed pretty soon, Kusanagi-chan."

"Yes, you're right." Shizuka's body is in pristine condition, even if her johnny gown indicates that the wearer is ill.

"Excuse me, misses." Interrupting the two girls is a man of the military, a medic if his red cross bracelet is anything to go by. Average height with a muscular build, and a face that falls under not specifically remarkable with the exception of his rather fabulous moustache. "My name is Fukunaka Torio, a military doctor working here. Since you just woke up I need to make a few checks on you. First of all, are we correct that your name is Kusanagi Shizuka?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Picking the patient board from the front of the board the man starts to write on it, simply confirming or denying some info. "Okay, check. And what Teshigahara-san next to you said about being her classmate, is that correct?"

"Indeed, she's from my class. I'm a third year at Jounan Academy, middle school division, and our class is here for a holiday trip. I'm only afraid it has been ruined a bit."

"I'm sorry for that. But that means that this information is probably correct. You're currently fourteen, and hold your birthday in a month."

"That's right."

"Well, let's inform you about what happened first: One day ago we found you unconscious in the snow a kilometer to the northwest of Niseko. However, other than your lack of consciousness and ruined clothes you were not suffering from any kind of injury." Suddenly the air around the man changes, something forming in his mouth. It lacks any sort of form, something that cannot be picked up with just the five normal senses, but Shizuka can track it no problem.

"The cause for this catastrophe is an earthquake of magnitude 8.3, which caused massive avalanches in the vicinity of Niseko. It seems that you managed to get lucky, the avalanche that you got in was a small one, and the cause of your clothing damage is a patch of somewhat sharp rocks you rolled over. You must be glad that you did not get hurt otherwise." The words are the anomaly Shizuka picks up, as she can feel them float towards her. However, just as the words try to enter Shizuka's body they disintegrate into nothingness.

Yeah, that isn't normal. The truth is what Shizuka desires now more than anything, so she will simply have to talk her way into it.

"There's no need to hide the truth from me." Not spoken like a harsh king or someone who doesn't know what just happened, but spoken as if coming from a friend, a comrade. Deducing that this man is probably not working on his own in this abnormal world the chance is likely that he is a grunt of some unknown organization. If she can make him believe that she too belongs to that group then gaining info will be a lot easier.

Fukunaka Torio looks at Shizuka, confused by this event. The kid in front of her who should've been another victim of easy hypnotizing shakes off his spell without much trouble before claiming to be a member of the History Compilation Committee. Somewhat shaken he follows procedures to make sure that nobody hears about it.

Using hypnosis again on the beds next to Shizuka both of her neighbors are ordered to "ignore the discussion on the bed next to them." To Shizuka's secret surprise both of them swallow these commands without resistance.

The man turns back to Shizuka, his confidence regained. "So," he asks, still slightly filled with doubt. "you're a member of the Committee too?" Suddenly the man thinks of a possibility. A reason why this child might be affiliated with them. "Now that I think about it, you might be one of our hime-miko." Believing his own words he enters a continuing cycle of self-suggestion, until he is certain that this girl is one of his. "You are, aren't you?"

"What does it look like, of course I am! I'm certainly not an ordinary girl, that's for sure." There's no reason for this man to try and fake Shizuka out with a bluff. Shizuka knows that she proved her abnormality by blocking that hypnosis-like thing the man was doing. He has no reason to bluff here, so an answer like this will do.

The man grumbles, having to admit that what Shizuka says is probably true. "Come with me, you need to meet the others stationed here. I assume you can walk properly?" Shizuka steps out of bed, finding no problem with movement. "Good. Then let's discuss what happened here on the way. There's a meeting in a few minutes, and it would be nice if you could introduce yourself to the rest of the team."

Shizuka stands up and walks away, but gets stopped by her classmate. "Where are you going, Kusanagi-chan?" She asks, not wanting to let her friend go like that. Did she just break off whatever that man did by pure willpower, or was that… thing he did only aimed at words and not actions?

"I'm not wounded, Teshigahara-san. If they doctors cannot find anything wrong with me then I will be discharged from this place." After all, in a crisis like this they prefer to have all who are unharmed leave the hospital to make personnel and space free for the truly wounded.

"Ah…" Saya does not like it, but she will have to let Shizuka go. "Will you still visit me if you have the time?"

"Sure. Just focus on getting better."

"Okay, until later!" Saya waves off her classmate, who starts to walk away with the soldier.

When out of range from her friend Shizuka starts to ask questions: "So, Fukunaka-san, how much do we know about the current situation?"

"Two days ago five divine beasts appeared at the same time. A nine-tailed fox controlling fire, a nine-headed pheasant, a gigantic turtle causing earthquakes, a woman playing a jade guitar and-"

"A jet black dragon firing water blasts, I know." Interrupting this common knowledge Shizuka plays the impatient and knowledgeable comrade role perfectly. Her companion looks annoyed at the response, but continues like nothing happened:

"As I was saying, five divine beasts appeared near Niseko. They rampaged through the area for approximately three hours before suddenly disappearing without a trace. We also noticed traces of a divine being, most likely the [Heretic god] commandeering the beasts. There were a few claims of normal people claiming that they saw a woman floating in the air and giving off the aura of a goddess. If we purely go by appearance she is absolutely gorgeous, with her most noticeable feature being a combination of black and white hair tied in a braid."

That sounds exactly like that woman Shizuka fought. Of course, no need to tell that right now. After all, in this infiltration secrets are her only weapon.

"While she was seen by two of our own nobody managed to witness her unleash any authorities on the world. We also don't know about her current location, though it is strange that she vanished without a trace. For now we assume that the divine enemy we are facing is a goddess of [Beasts] or a goddess of [Nature] who has disappeared from our senses."

"[Earth]." Shizuka still fails to understand a few of these terms. The difference between [Heretic gods] and normal ones, or what an authority is. However, if the story that goddess told is anything to go by then her origin is neither [Beast] nor [Nature].

"Beg your pardon?"

"[Earth]. That goddess is the [Mother Earth goddess of Creation]. Her origin is the land currently known as China." If mentioning Diyu is anything to go by then the goddess most likely has ties to that country.

The man looks at Shizuka, wondering where she got that information from. Of course there's only one logical explanation from his point of view: "I see. I'm glad that there's another hime-miko nearby, the one stationed here didn't get a revelation from her spirit vision."

Hime-miko? Spirit vision? It still doesn't make sense to Shizuka, but if she keeps playing along she will certainly come to understand it eventually.

After moving through a myriad of doors Shizuka arrives in one of the hospital's staff rooms, where five other people already sat down.

"Hey, who's the little lady, Torio?" One of the five, a tall foreigner with reddish hair and a slender body asks. "Don't tell me that you've become a lolicon?"

"Nothing of the sort, Kaiji." Torio answers with a sigh, "This girl here is a Hime-Miko from another station, merely here because she was on vacation. However, unlike Tomoe she successfully managed to get a divination of the goddess that descended here."

"Hey, I can't help it." A girl with short brown hair and a rather muscular physique mutters these words under her breath. This is probably Tomoe then. "I have an accuracy of 25 percent, which is quite decent for your average diviner. Of course I'm not gaining any knowledge three-quarters of the time."

"Our theories about this goddess are a bit wrong." Torio says with a puffed up chest, as if he is the one who unearthed this information, "We're not facing a goddess of [Beasts], this is one of the [Mother goddesses of Earth]."

"I see." This man, dressed in an extravagant suit with brown slicked-back hair turns to Shizuka: "As for you, thank the gods that you managed to obtain some knowledge. Before you tell us about the divination you received I think that it is more appropriate to introduce ourselves first. My name is Sugiyama Sotaro. I'm one of the six people the HCC stationed in this area. I'm the leader of the group, taking care of reporting everything that happens here to headquarters. The one you walked with to here is Torio, who's in charge of keeping magic hidden from society."

"I'm Nakai Tomoe, but you can call me Tomoe-chan, missy." Ah, someone is going for the cool big sister approach. A good try, Shizuka comments, but the girl Tomoe is trying it on doesn't belong to the audience that works on. "I'm the hime-miko here, but other than the usual stuff I don't really have any special abilities."

"Hasegawa." Another woman, this one with a petite and youthful build and facial features making her seem even younger. "Just an ordinary spellcaster. Nice to meet you." Short and precise, she seems not to spend more words than necessary.

The next to speak is the tall guy with the red hair: "Kaiji Andrewson, born in Scotland but raised here in Japan! Born from a bloodline of priests and priestesses I'm one of Japan's few witches!" He speaks out in pride, his slender body puffing up slightly. Shizuka makes a note here that witch seems to be an unisex title. One would think that the word witch belongs to a female-only society.

"And that leaves me, Hideki Tatsuya. I'm the one in charge of the odd jobs around here, mainly using heretic magecraft like [Leap] and [Reinforcement] to perform stuff like scouting or relaying information in case a cellphone won't do. Otherwise I mainly do the paperwork, since that job gets shoved onto me each time I lose at rock-paper-scissors." Not a single one of the other five is going to tell that Hideki's losing streak originated from his honesty not to use magic against cheaters who do use it. Especially because they now don't need to perform paperwork. "So, what's your name? I can't keep calling you miss or girl all the time."

"My name is Kusanagi Shizuka. Nice to meet you, everyone." Upon Shizuka speaking these words all people except for Torio, who though thick-headedness didn't make the connection, go pale.

"Uhm… Shizuka-chan," Tomoe asks nervously, "you aren't connected to, well, that Kusanagi, right?"

That Kusanagi? The only thing that comes into mind is the sword of Susanoo and Yamato Takeru {1}. Hang on, that sword is deified at several shrines in Japan and it is said that the Kusanagi clan takes care of that sword. It wouldn't be surprising if there is some close relationship between the real Kusanagi clan and that sword, and if that grass-cutter really is a god then the true Kusanagi clan might be difficult to deal with.

"No, just because the name's the same doesn't mean I am automatically related." A wave of relief goes through the room, expect for Torio, who is being scolded at for not wondering about the meaning of Shizuka's name.

"I see." Sugiyama replies casually, not having any fear anymore for this girl. "In that case, could you please tell us what you learned about that goddess?"

"Of course, Sugiyama-san." Sitting down on an empty chair Shizuka starts her short lecture: "This divinity is a goddess of earth, but also a goddess of creation. The humans that worship her are the same as the ones she created from the dust of the earth, something she did in what we now know as China. She is paired with another male god, her brother, who took her as his wife. The two ruled those people as their sovereigns until their tribe was conquered by a foreign god, an emperor-king. The wife became a daughter and lost her connection to earth, becoming a celestial child instead. However, I didn't get her name."

"I see, I see, a mother earth goddess, huh?" The male witch speaks up happily. "now isn't this a lucky streak for us? Because our group lacks a master of Feng Shui or Geomancy {2} we couldn't really trace down the location of this goddess. However, this all changes if the goddess we are looking for is a goddess of earth. As we witches are the descendants of their priestesses it is very possible for us to ask their location. Give me two hours, and I'll be ready to perform the ritual."

"I'll help prepare." Hasegawa answers emotionlessly. Seeing that enough people are busy with the magic ritual the other four offer to take Shizuka for some new clothes and dinner. It's almost eight in the evening and Shizuka hasn't eaten for days now, nor can she go out in cold weather wearing only a johnny gown.

After Shizuka gets dressed in some hand-me-downs from Tomoe, a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt and jacket, the group takes a fifteen minute walk to a house surprisingly undamaged by the rampage. According to Torio this is his house, and since it is barely damaged by the rampage it is the perfect place to settle down for a quick bite.

The inside of the house is kind of ordinary, though there are quite a lot of books in his shelves. A few are magic related, through these all seem to either go over the basics or are based on the art of Onmyodo {3}. He also seems to be a big fan of folkloric stories, especially of the King Arthur sagas: 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight', 'Tristan and Iseult' and 'Sir Robin and the Vicious Chicken of Bristol', just to name a few.

Torio and Nakai prepare dinner in the kitchen, leaving the trio of Sagato, Hideki and Shizuka in the living room.

Just like soldiers stationed in a camp waiting for their next attack the trio kill time by talking about everything but what is important, leading to a long but ordinary conversation about everyday topics. Some topics are more an introduction about everyone, or those about recent events that happened. Multiple subjects come on top, from Tatsuya giving tips about how he kept his younger brother in line when he was young (as advice for Shizuka, who had to use all of those tips before she was seven) to Sagato telling that his wife is pregnant and also Shizuka who was talking about life in Tokyo. She omitted most names to make sure her gramps and brother don't get known by this committee. Kind of a shame, otherwise these mages might've figured out who she's closely related to.

Eventually dinner is served, a simple sakedon{4} dish that was quickly made. It's quality is barely average, but good enough that Shizuka willingly takes seconds. The other four are quite surprised at Shizuka's appetite as even the other healthy eater at the table is unable to keep up.

So the quality of Shizuka's digestive system becomes a topic on table, and like all other topics it simply ends as an ordinary conversation. Shizuka is still slightly wary of her 'mates', because she doesn't truly belong to them. No, she is an ordinary human caught in the storm of the supernatural, and is doing her best not to get noticed. So while they talk about many things Shizuka doesn't reveal herself as a muggle in the ways of magic.

Eventually the five realize that almost ninety minutes have passed. The clock now standing at a quarter before ten the group realizes they can return to the witch and his assistant who should've finished preparations by now.

The group's destination this time is not the hospital anymore, instead moving towards what looks like a westerner's house hidden away on top of one of the smaller hills in the area. It resembles a Roman villa, but upon closer inspection there are several intricate design choices that didn't exist until around two centuries ago. Opening the door to the place is Hasegawa, the one who volunteered to stay behind to help.

After letting everyone in Hasegawa and her companions move to the backyard, with Shizuka following close by. There's an aura of magic swirling in this place, which seems to be centered around the place they are walking towards. Upon entering the backyard her theory proves correct as two whirlpools of energy flow like yin and yang between the table in the middle and Kaiji, who is finishing his meditation at the veranda.

"Say, what's he doing right now?" Shizuka whispers to Tomoe. The hime-miko offered to fulfill the big sister role, so now she has to do her job. "Witchcraft isn't really my area of knowledge."

The older girl shrugs, not knowing the answer as well: "As far as I know this is some sort of ritual to determine the location and state of the goddess. Sorry, I'm not really a master in this either." The two girls see Kaiji standing up, his eyes in trance, moving towards the front of the table. "Ah, I think that he is going to start chanting."

"Oh great goddess of the earth," Raising his hands to the air the witch starts his aria devoted to the goddess. Several particles in the air start to light up, gathering above the table in a clump of light. "may your blessings forever protect us as we pledge our bonds to you. Oh great mother, for we are lost and cannot see, illuminate your presence upon us!" The clump of light takes the form of a snake. Upon closer inspection Shizuka can see that the table is not just an ordinary table but a map covering the entirety of the northern island of Hokkaido. The snake slithers to the southwest before coming to a standstill above Niseko, the place where they are in right now.

"Hoh, so the goddess didn't leave this city at all." Sagato casually remarks. That's what makes Shizuka understand the full ability of this spell. The light forms an indicator that marks the location of the goddess, and is connected to the map for precise localization of the deity. It's a nifty spell, but compared to the powers of the goddess this is an entire dimension away from her level.

Having expected this kind of possibility Hasegawa takes out a large stone tablet, this one depicting the city and its surroundings. They have a vague image of the goddess' location, now all they need to do is to increase the precision.

"For we will seek out pilgrimage, we will clean our inner temples for you, o holiness." As Hasegawa slides the second map on the table the tiny serpent makes a cute hop onto the new plate. Circling round for a few moments he finds the right spot, moving to his destination. "Thus we beseech you, let our search not be in vain!"

The snake stops right above a lone house on a hidden hill, with coordinates that are surprisingly similar to this house?

"Andrewson, are you certain you did it correctly?!" Sagato shouts out. "There's no way that the goddess can be hidden on this hill!"

"There are no mistakes made! Perhaps there is a cave or so hidden under this place, and the goddess has gone in refuge there! Why can't she be there?!" The adults are shouting at one another, panicked by this news. The only one to remain calm is the stoic Hasegawa, who performs her own magic:

"As rivers merge into the sea, so do the lesser man gather around the gods. Hanzaki Daimyojin{5}, please guide us to the great deities!"

A blue path forms on the ground, and for the first time that Shizuka has been hanging out with this group she loses her cool. To be precise, everyone does when they see that the path to the goddess is only about five meters long, and ends directly at Shizuka.

"Y-You, Shizuka-san, why does the aura of the goddess point to you? What are you hiding?" Hideki doesn't trust it anymore, and starts to accuse Shizuka for having done something weird.

"Did… did that goddess suffer some setback, and her divine spirit took shelter in your body?" the witch asks, almost being in denial of that feared possibility. The earth does not need another devil king.

"Shizuka-chan, please answer me honestly:" This time it is Tomoe who is trying to appeal to her big sister role. "What did you do the previous days?"

"Yes," Torio adds on "What were you doing out there in that snowfield so far away from the city? Don't tell me that you did that foolish thing and… and… you f-f-f…"

"Fought her?" Shizuka speaks the words none of the others can say. "No, it's better to say that she wanted to fight me. I only respo-"

"Bullshit!" Kaiji shouts out in English, furious at the notion that he interrupted. "If a god has determined that you shall die then you will die! Normal humans cannot stand up to them, so if that was true you should be dead!"

Honestly, he has a point. As far as Shizuka can remember she should indeed be dead right now. Punctured lung, multiple bleeding wounds, a missing arm and more combined is not something one can survive, let alone without damage.

"Thus are you implying that you managed to deal a mortal blow on that goddess and usurped her authority, becoming the newest godslayer in the process?"

"Was that a mortal blow then?" Shizuka wonders aloud. She remembers slamming that stone into the goddess' side, but that shouldn't be a mortal blow. Or was there something else she did, her memories are a bit vague after that hit.

"Insolence!" The witch screams out, as his partners have all fled to the corners of the veranda, watching the two with fear and curiosity. "For the audacious remark of claiming to be an equal to the gods, I will take your life, Kusanagi Shizuka!"

It's quite curious: Even though Shizuka recognizes the killing intent of this man and the skin on her nape starts to shudder, there is not a single thought in her mind that makes her feel like she is going to die.

"Knowest that thou art not an immortal god, rememberest thy mortality as a daughter of man."

Spellwords for so-called "darkness." A powerful magic that makes the house shake like there had been an earthquake. As a dark mist envelops Shizuka the only reaction it has on her is that the temperature seems to drop around a single degree, making it slightly colder. The only thoughts she has about the spell is that it is has quite the fitting wording for the goal Andrewson has in mind.

"Is that it? I doubt that it is working." Like a taunt, Shizuka dares this man to try better.

"The how about I make it a bit hotter with my trump card, faker!" Kaiji passionately screams in return. "Though you may use some weird protective barrier right now, my next spell that can harm even gods will destroy you unless the divine authorities are used against it!"

Weird protective barrier? Shizuka has no idea what he is talking about. Instead of wondering she continues to look at Kaiji, who is chanting his spellwords for a last spell:

"The gift stolen from the gods, the fire of Prometheus / Agni, here I sacrifice myself to you / Xiuhtecuhtli, for the dark night is lighted by the god of fire." As befitting the substance of the spellwords a large amount of fire gathers around the witch, his body sweating from the heat.

"For it is dark and I cannot see the way, and what stands before me will not let me pass. Therefore, let divine flames judge the opposing evil." The fire condenses into a much smaller space, but as it shrinks the power only increases.

When it is the size of a soccer ball Shizuka feels an actual threat from the spell. 'If I get hit by that fire it will be troublesome.' That though enters Shizuka's head. So what can she use to counter it? Is there anything she can do to stop it?

"You have slain the greatest ruler of the east, and now join the ranks of the children of Epithemeus! Young god-slayer, become a king of unparalleled strength, powerful enough to carry both heaven and earth!"

Shizuka can hear these words in the back of her head, spoken by that arrogant goddess. Somewhere inside of her there is a power waiting to be awakened.

Fire; Water; Earth; Wood; Metal; a global feel of her power tells Shizuka that she can summon upon these powers.

"Well then mister Andrewson, let us compare our firepower." The opponent's fire shrinks down to the form of a dart, infused with enough power to pierce divine defenses and strike the enemy. In return Shizuka unleashes part of the power deep inside her.

"O Fire, descend from the heavens!" A chant to summon one of the five [Divine Stones of Heaven], this time summoning the stone containing divine fire. Upon this command a yellow stone of three feet tall floats in the air next to Shizuka. She doesn't really know what power this thing holds, but she can feel that that little dart doesn't even come close to it.

Andrewson finishes the last words of his incantation causing the dart to shoot through the air like a bullet, aiming for Shizuka's heart.

'Show that man what you got without killing him.' This would be the command given to the stone by Shizuka if it is a sentient being. Now she simply gives a final chant to unleash the power within: "This fire is radiant and powerful, incinerating all in its way!"

As the final word is spoken a massive(!) pillar of fire spews out from the stone, completely obliterating the tiny little flame that approached it. Barely missing the witch the fire burns through the house, either turning the stone the flames hit to pumicite or the surrounding stone to lava.

Outside of the house the snow melts under the heat of the fire, and the mountain in the back now has its top blown off, leaving a round hole like you only see in comic books.

Shizuka puts her hand to her head as she worries over the collateral damage she caused. One of Niseko's mountains has been ruined beyond recognition, and whatever ski lift used to bring people up that mountain is now completely obliterated. Damn, she didn't expect the difference in power to be this great!

The humans around Shizuka are less worried about the damage caused. Instead they do what normal humans would do in this situation: Kaiji and Hideki fainted from shock; Torio pretty much fled the scene; Hasegawa and Tomoe stand around like a deer caught in the headlights; Only team leader Sagato can accept the truth that there has been born a new king.

"P-Please accept my humble apologies for not recognizing your magnificent feat, oh godslayer." Yes, Sagato knows the trouble he is in. Finding out that the person you met just became a rakshasa monarch is not that big of a deal. Offer congratulations for their feat and give your assistance when it is needed; If you do that the Campione will not harm you and one might even gain his protection! Attacking a newborn king on the other hand is the pinnacle of stupidity. A king has slain a god; such a person must hold massive viciousness in battle and the will to kill. Even lord Kusanagi Godou, who is a rather nice person outside of battle, will transform into a pragmatic warrior without mercy when pushed on the battlefield. This woman is probably the same.

Even the best scenario will probably lead to Andrewson's death or severe suffering. Worst comes to worst and she slaughters the entire squad.

"Had I put more attention to your nature I would've certainly found out about your power and prevented this senseless act of my subordinate. Please, the only ones who need to be punished are your challenger and me, his superior." Asking, no, begging for the lives of the other four, Sagato falls to his knees.

"You certainly didn't search at all." Shizuka snidely remarks. Having clearly obtained a superior position to the rest she has no need to keep up the masquerade. "You didn't even realize I'm a complete novice to the magic world."

"You what?" Looking with disbelief at Shizuka Sagato cannot believe his ears. "Did… did we get deceived?"

"Yes, by a kid unknown to the world of magic. You need to get your act together if you want to keep magic hidden from the outside world."

"I… I will certainly do so. Anything else I can do, milady?"

Shizuka makes her demands: Introductive texts to the world of magic in general, alongside books about the schools of magic, to make herself acquainted with the hidden world she discovered. Other than that all that is needed is a good place to sleep. It is late and Shizuka is not interested in pursuing this matter any further.

-x-

Ten minutes after defeating her first mortal (foolish) challenger Shizuka stands outside in the garden with the phone of the loser as her temporary spoils of war. Having lost contact with her family for a while Shizuka decides to keep them no longer in suspension and announce her safety. Ringing the number of her home she hears the phone ring three times before being picked up:

"Hello, this is Kusanagi Godou, who is calling so late at night?"

"Onii-chan, it's me, Shizuka."

"Ah, Shizuka, how's your holiday trip going?"

"Onii-chan…" A gulp can be heard from the other side of the phone as Shizuka starts to speak with a menacing tone. You can almost hear Godou thinking: What did I do wrong? "Did you watch even the slightest bit of news? If you did you would know that there was an earthquake around here with Niseko as its epicenter. Are you telling me that you spend these days in some secluded place with your lovers?"

"S-Shizuka, they are my friends, not my lovers!" Godou protests loudly, objecting for the umpteenth time against that superstition. Why are they all out to make him look like some perverted and lust-obsessed devil king? "I was just asked to help with a side job from some people I know…"

With side job Godou means 'Slay the remains of [True Lord Erlang] who manifested through the remains of the [Keeper of the Horses] spell.' While not exactly the most magnificent of battles, and one easily forgotten, that guy's ability to mislead the [Sword] made the battle unnecessary difficult and increased the collateral damage Godou had to cause by one waterfall. Another battle where Godou cannot bring himself from damaging the surroundings.

"Hoh? Side job? Really, who asked you to perform a task that doesn't even let you watch the news?"

"Uhm… you don't know her…" There's no need to say that this request came from a rather androgynous woman named Sayanomiya Kaoru. "But is that rea-"

"Onii-chan, did you just say her? Knowing you I would say that you somehow gained a new girlfriend!"

"She's just a normal friend!" For once Godou does speak the truth. When it comes to girls he knows Kaoru is one of the few that he has absolutely zero love with. "Ah, would it help if I tell you that she is into women? At least, I think so."

Kaoru is well known in her school to be the target of many admirers, and she seems to be as popular as the prettiest of boys he knows. What kind of man can possibly beat that girl at charming women?

No, Kusanagi Godou did not include himself in that question, nor is he aware that he could beat her with ease.

"I think so?" Shizuka asks about Godou's uncertainty.

"Yes, I think so, but I'm not certain." That girl seems to hold playfulness to both sexes, not just girls. The possibility that Kaoru is bi or so is also possible. "But she did offer me to go pick up girls with her, so it is natural to assume that she is a lesbian."

"…"

It stays silent on the side of Shizuka for a while. Godou questions why there is no response from the other side, before realizing the horrid mistake he made:

"Hoho, Onii-chan, that's an interesting side-job you took." Oh yes, Shizuka misunderstood. Unlike any conversation he had with any of the other girls he know, and those are many, it was not of the positive kind. Even if Godou would be conversing with his sworn older sister Luo Hao, given name Cuilian, he would not make such mistakes, and that is the woman that quite often punishes her well-trained disciple on his formality, property and etiquette.

Perhaps it is because the natural women killer instinct he has (but is unaware of) works on everyone but his sister that he is so fearful of her. Erica or any other of his girls can all be quite scary. Fighting a Campione or Godslayer is a hundred times worse than that. Talking to his sworn older sister is a hundred times worse than such a supernatural fight. And even compared to his Nee-san Shizuka is still scarier. The only thing worse than Shizuka would probably be a Campione version of Shizuka. Good thing that that will never happen, right?

"N-No, Shizuka, you're misunderstanding things! That offer happened a long time ago, and naturally I declined like any normal person would! All I did this time was cleaning up some old stuff that lost its function and incinerating it."

"Really Onii-chan? For now I'll believe you, but that still doesn't explain why you couldn't watch the news."

"Well…" Okay, there's no real excuse for not knowing that other than to explain the truth. "I guess I simply didn't spend much time watching the news. It's just a coincidence, really."

"Hah…" A sigh of annoyance, Shizuka is pretty much done with this subject. "Onii-chan, I'll believe you for now, even if you still need to solve your issues with the girls." Godou's shout of 'Don't be ridiculous, there are no problems I could have with my girls!' is quickly ignored by Shizuka, who curtly tells him that no, he does have them. Godou drops the subject, asking the more important question:

"Oh, Shizuka, considering your speech I doubt that you are wounded, but I'll ask just in case: did you get hurt by that earthquake?"

"No, not really. My problem is that due to the earthquake the trip is cancelled. The wounded will have to stay in the hospital for a while, but since I was discharged I can take a flight back home next Saturday. It would be useful if a certain brother of mine would pick me up from the airport."

"Sure, sure." Godou knows that Shizuka could probably talk her way into someone's car, but since both he and his grandfather have nothing better to do and there are probably no gods waiting to descend upon earth there's some space free in Godou's agenda to pick up Shizuka. "At what time will you arrive?"

"I…" Okay, Shizuka did not plan that far ahead. Sure, she could probably get a plane ticket if she ordered the committee to get her one, but the time is not yet determined. "I'll tell you tomorrow. It's late, and I want to get some sleep."

"Ah, okay. Sleep well then, Shizuka."

"Sleep well, Onii-chan." And with that Shizuka hangs up. The idea of sleep does sound very attractive right now, mainly because she doesn't feel rested from her period of unconsciousness.

Letting out a yawn Shizuka returns to the magic team recovering from their surprise, adding a third order to her demands: fix a plane ticket back home to Tokyo next Saturday.

The order is accepted just as the magic team managed to secure a good lodging. After being walked to her temporary abode she closes herself out from the world, quickly seeking her bed for some well-deserved rest.

-x-

Fifth of November, Late morning

When Shizuka woke up she started her morning rather ordinarily: waking up, eating breakfast prepared by Hasegawa and changing into a pair of fresh clothing, this time blue jogging pants and a purple turtleneck.

During dinner she gets informed that there is a seat reserved for flight 706, going from Niseko to Haneda airport {6} at a quarter past eight. Quickly finishing her meal she then makes a short call to her brother and grandfather about the upcoming flight and that they will have to pick her up at ten o'clock.

After finishing that call she could gaze upon the results of her second request: Whatever books on magic that weren't destroyed by the goddess' rampage were brought to Shizuka's temporary residence. Now a nice total of around forty books are stapled around a comfy chair, perfect for Shizuka to read books in.

Some of them offer insight in the history of magic, others are basic starting books on the subject of several schools of magic and five of them contain the more highly advanced spellwords that specialize in a certain direction, like the book about the absorption of knowledge and energy from the heart of a human sacrifice to the Aztec god Mictlantecuthli {7}.

The book Shizuka starts with is literally titled "Introduction to the world of gods and magic." Can't really start off better than that:

As far as recorded knowledge goes gods existed since the deification of that which humanity did not understand, which equals to about as long as humanity existed. The myths and legends would take form in a world parallel to our own, the [Realm of Immortality]. While it is impossible to go to that realm as a human the beings who live there can descend upon earth as [Heretic Gods]. These beings are gods who rebel against their own myth, disagreeing with how humanity sees them. An example of this would be that goddess Shizuka slew, who wanted humanity to not associate her anymore with her "dad".

[Heretic Gods] wield authorities, which are manifestations of the domain that they rule over. A solar god wields searing flames, a weather god controls thunder, an underworld deity rules over life and death, a god of nature commands divine beasts, et cetera. These powers are incomparably stronger than human might so humans instinctively run from them or worship them. Only a fool would try to challenge them and only an even greater fool would actually manage to kill the god.

It is not uncommon for humans to have a somewhat symbiotic relationship with the gods they worship, often receiving blessings of various natures. The most notable gift is the ability to break the laws of reality and perform the supernatural. All these abilities are named magic, but they are separated in different kind of schools, each with their own workings:

The first is hereditary magic. This can only be passed on through blood, and one's potential for it is determined by birth. Even a godslayer cannot learn this type of magic unless he owns a specific authority to let him learn these skills. Examples of this are witchcraft and the gifts of hime-miko.

Second come the blessings of the divine, the heretic magic. This can be considered to be small parts of the powers of the gods, granted to humans in return for some favor they did, like worshiping. While originally meant to stay in the cult that worshiped the deity many spells were exchanged by humans over the years. This makes them the most accessible for people new to this world. One of the most notable aspects is that this magic always requires a catalyst for summoning. The catalyst is almost always spell words, but can sometimes be accompanied or replaced by magic artifacts or potions.

Third are the skills that manipulate one's own energy. This uses the energy inside one's body, most commonly known as Qi or life force, to perform techniques impossible within the realm of logic. The power is equivalent to the energy within, so a Campione with thousands of times the energy of a normal mage and decennia of training in this style can make this a sort of pseudo-authority. Examples from a hundred years ago are Shining Emir Hakim ruling the Middle-East and His Eminence Luo Hao of China. Using Pahlevani {8} and Daoist arts respectively they managed to stand at the top of the realm of martial arts.

However, compared to the power of Campione mages only come off as pale imitations, and both Gods and Campione hold massive resistance against these attacks.

In other words, any type of offensive magic written in these books are absolutely useless for Shizuka. She can feel it, her authority's ability. Take the stone of [Fire], for example: With the control that she has over that part of her authority anything ranging between 'a small fire to light a cigarette' to 'complete destruction of a city block' should be possible, as long as it is fire-related. There's no need to use an imitation when you own the original.

Another book that interests her is Demon King, by the Italian Alberto Ricardo. It's one of the first books that gives a good description of the ones that slew a god, and the first who introduced the term Campione:

However, I want to emphasize it, once again:

Campione – Godslayer – is the supreme ruler.

Since he can kill a divine being, he can therefore call on the highly divine powers held by the gods.

Campione – Godslayer – is a lord.

Since the power to kill a deity is in their hands, they therefore have the power t-

Aargh! Why is this book so overly and unnecessarily longwinded, especially when the message to tell is so simple? Shizuka is certain that she can summarize it in under a quarter of thousand words:

Campione, people who managed to slay gods. They obtain the power of the gods they slew, and are way more powerful than normal humans. Other than the authorities stolen from the god a Campione gains several other powers: These include enhanced longevity, massive resistance to human magic, magic power hundreds of times that of even the greatest mages, night vision, increased spiritual senses, superhuman stamina, bones stronger than metal, incredibly fast recovery speed, and they swiftly learn new languages.

Through the difference between each king is great all can be summarized as tyrants, ruling through power and fear. However, they usually won't needlessly harm humans, unless they stand in the way of their mania.

This mania can take all sort of forms: Obtaining power or knowledge, lust for battle, having fun, eating, sexual lust, and many more. It is what drives them in life and often hints at the type of authorities he has stolen from the gods. Other traits shared between Campione are the ambition and leadership of a ruler, the arrogance, cunning and bloodlust of a warrior, and the idiocy they inherited from Epithemeus.

The only people who stand as their equal are his fellow Campione and the gods themselves. The only fools greater than Campione are the suicidal mages who think they can beat one of the devil kings.

As they stop the Heretic gods from causing destruction they are a necessary evil who fight for humanity, and normal humans cannot help but to serve them.

There, even within the maximum word count.

There are many points in this book that Shizuka disagrees with: How is she a tyrant who rules through power and fear? She's a normal person, and while she did run a few businesses to help others make money she isn't really much of a ruler. And what's this about a mania? She has no such absurd thing, if anything she's trying to stop others from unleashing… their…

"Ah, that's entirely possible." Stopping her brother and Ichirou from all their womanizing; Fool-heartedly preventing a goddess from killing people; What if her mania is actually suppressing other people's mania, and making sure they act normally? That would actually make a lot of sense, being someone who abnormally adheres to normalness would probably fit right in the row of mania.

Still, all this Campione stuff is going to take some time to adjust to. Is she now destined to become Japan's protector and drive evil gods out of her country?

Eh, there are worse jobs in the world. Large amount of free days, almost always outdoors and great level of respect from the magic world, it sure beats anything you can learn from an university.

There is also a book on the history of the History Compilation Committee, but all that needs to be said is that they do a pretty good job of keeping common man away from the world of magic, although they seem to lack good differentiation between magi and non-magi. The rest is expository banter without use.

Skipping history Shizuka now enters the world of practical magic, picking up the first book on the tray: "Powers and abilities of the hime-miko". With great interest she starts to read…

…only to put the book away after five minutes. Not because the book is uninteresting, no, nor because the magic lacks use for her. Spirit Vision to make predictions of the future and gain knowledge of enemy gods, Spirit Sensing to act as a sixth sense and a few other skills seem quite useful. The problem is that one must be born a hime-miko to use these skills. Shizuka is not born a hime-miko. Thus the book can be put away and gather dust once more.

Next is a book about the doctrine of the five elements, called "Wu Xing: the five movements". It is not impossible to learn like the first book, but it will not be useful as subject material. This school can literally be called "The copycats of Shizuka's authority". Perhaps there are a few interesting tricks in the book, but nothing truly useful.

Then a book about Onmyodo. This is the first book to offer a few useful spells. Sure, less than a percent of the spells are useful, most of the spells barely functional from the perspective of one who wields the divine sacrosanct. All spells based on one of the five elements hold no value to her. The one spell that does seem interesting is the art of Kotodama, literally meaning the power of words. Being used to enforce one's word upon another, it is the actual source of hypnosis that Torio used yesterday on her classmate. In other words, a reset button in case Shizuka screws up and accidentally involves bystanders in the world of magi.

Yes, this sounds like perfect study material. Reading the information about the subject thoroughly Shizuka tries to memorize the spell as well as possible.

One hour later and Shizuka believes that she has it all memorized: The small hand motions, the right concentration, the right way to infuse the words with magic, and all the other stuff that comes with the spell. It's surprisingly complicated, especially when compared to the "throw big flame on enemy" authority she used yesterday. Is this the difference between the power of the gods and those that try to catch the crumbs that fall from the divine table?

Either way, it's time to give the spell a try. As for the test subject, there is a volunteer. To be more precise, Sagato decided that the best way of apology is to make the foolish challenger work as Shizuka's henchmen, pawn, minion, however you want to call it. She has no real use for it, so thus far her only orders have been "Stand outside" and "Come here when I call you". The latter is now called on as the witch meekly enters the room.

His body trembles, and he unsuccessfully hides his fear. "W-What can I do for you, milady?" Kaiji knows what is coming for him: He insulted a Campione, denied her feats and tried to kill her. A death penalty might even await… if he tried to do this on an important human. A godslayer will usually laugh off the pathetic attempt of murder, so it won't be death that awaits him.

No, it will be worse.

Shizuka on the other hand simply ignored the state her lackey is in to concentrate a final time on the magic. Now what to order? It has to be something simple and harmless, but also easily testable. An idea forms in Shizuka's head, one perfect for this plan. She speaks out the words empowered by magic:

"Kaiji-san, forget your name." An order easily measurable yet also harmless enough that it can be solved with ease. It also tests what exactly will be forgotten: His given name, his surname or will it be his entire name? It is a good way to find out.

A torrent of magic streams to the lanky witch, and before he can defend himself he is hit by the spell. Kaiji only let out a single restrained shout before falling on his behind, his gaze clouded and his body immobile.

When he stays dazed for quite a few seconds Shizuka starts to worry. This was not supposed to happen, he should be out of it for no more than a second before acting normal again, except without memory of his own name.

Shizuka nudges the entranced mage a few times but obtains no response. Just when Shizuka wants to quit and ask for help her target snaps awake.

"Ah good, you're finally awa-"

"Who… who are you, young miss?" This interruption surprises Shizuka. Why does he not remember her name? The order was simply to forget his own name, not that of Shizuka. Did she make a mistake?

"And… who am I? Where am I?" No, Shizuka screwed up. This is not forgetting a single detail. "I can't remember anything!" This is general amnesia.

While Shizuka cannot understand what she did wrong there is actually a very simply explanation for it:

A mage's worth is determined by several factors: The magic energy in his body, the energy he can pull out all at once, his physical condition, his intelligence and learning capacity, his control over his magic and his ability to adapt in a crisis. Shizuka can easily adapt to problematic situations and has above average intelligence; Thanks to becoming a Campione Shizuka's body is above prime condition and she can store and produce much more magic energy then a normal mage. However, her control is sub-par at best and terrible at worst. To someone whose entire magic use thus far has been to summon more energy than a mage has in his entire body this is like filling a cup with a fire hose.

There might've been a little bit too much power used this time. As the amnesiac seems to ponder over his own existence Shizuka is afraid she will have some bad news to tell to branch chief Sagato. This is going to be a problem…

-x-

Sixth of November, early morning.

It turns out that yesterday's problem did not turn out to be a big deal. Unlike the damage her authority caused this is easily recoverable by using either the magic art of negation or the skill disaster purification, which the HCC has a few masters of. Sagato claimed that he would take care of this small incident Shizuka caused, which left Shizuka with a rather carefree evening.

The next day Shizuka said goodbye to the team of magi who she spend the last two days with, knowing that she will probably not see them again. The only ones glad about this are the magi themselves, who celebrate her leave while Shizuka herself is in the airplane on her way back to Tokyo, together with one of the mages who has to escort her. It's unfit to let a kid of Shizuka's age fly alone without a guardian, even if she has enough power to destroy a small nation.

The one joining her on this journey is Hideki Tatsuya, who through the loss of another rock-paper-scissors is forced with the burden of travelling alongside Shizuka and reporting the news to headquarters personally. Playing fair still doesn't seem to make him prosper.

The plane ride is rather calm. The duo have two first-class seats available, reserved through some… special connections. Tatsuya had prepared many doom scenarios in his head, based on the actions that other Campione would take in this situation:

Her Eminence would call the airport an example of the decline of modern man, destroy everything and gouge out the eyes of all survivors for gazing upon her;

Sir Salvatore would through his idiocy somehow manage to cause a massive delay, and in the worst case his authority [Return to Medieval Times] would shut down all planes including those still in the air.

Kusanagi Godou would complain about going first class and rather fly with economy instead.

And then there's Madame Aisha…. Ugh, it would be worse than the three above combined.

Luckily for him Shizuka seems more interested in reading one of the books she took with her from Niseko rather than causing a commotion.

Tatsuya would almost slump in his seat when he saw this, thanking his lucky stars that this Campione is so subdued outside of battle. However, just as he plans to do that an important question nags in the back of his head:

What will this Campione do after returning to Tokyo?

Even if she looks like a normal kid reading an interesting book one should not forget that this girl did slay a god, casually destroyed a mountaintop and punished her attacker by giving him complete amnesia. Then she took advantage of all that and ordered people on her whim. One does not simply mess with her and come out unscathed. Worst of all she enters the territory of another king, and those kinds of events almost always lead to city-destroying duels.

Therefore information is needed, and the only source is the newest Campione herself. Eliminating his own hesitation he starts to ask questions to Shizuka: "Milady, what are your plans for the future?" Shizuka looks up from her book to her attendee, wondering what he is talking about. "I will tell the head families of the Committee about your grandiose feat, along with anything you want to pass on. It would be useful for us to know what you want to do after returning home, and no matter your future goal we will try to assist you in fulfilling it."

The future, huh? Shizuka didn't really think about it that much. She doesn't really have anything special that she wants to do. Sure, she may have killed a god but that does not mean she wants to end her normal lifestyle just like that.

"Go ahead and tell the History Compilation Committee about my existence, but keep it quiet to the rest of the world. I don't mind keeping this country safe from rampaging gods, but I am not interested in inviting other godslayers to Japan and attracting more trouble."

"Y-Yes, I will do so." Well, that could be worse. There is only one other important question to ask. "And what will you do in case you do meet any of your peers?"

"If possible I will try to solve it peacefully and obtain a truce with him. In case that is not possible or their demands are too ridiculous I think that I need to teach them some common sense and beat them in battle."

Okay, good. That solves the situation with Kusanagi Godou. Neither of the two youngest kings will attack the other without reason. Hideki almost sighs from relief, but realizes that he must first keep up appearances.

"Then I will rely this information too." Shizuka simply nods before asking if there is something else he wants to know. Tatsuya has nothing left to ask, so Shizuka returns to her book while the messenger starts formulating his report.

The plane eventually lands on Haneda Airport, where the duo step out. Shizuka will go her own direction, back to the place she calls home. HQ will eventually contact her and form a lasting alliance. As far as Hideki understands her she will probably form an alliance of friendship with Kusanagi Godou, and Japan will be a country protected by a duo of kings.

Hideki Tatsuya does not care for all of that. He simply wants to get as far away as possible from the Campiones and gods in this world, having seen how dangerous and powerful they really are. So he will simply give his report to the HCC and return on the next flight back home if possible. Now all he will do here is reviewing his report one last time before relying the message to headquarters:

On the second of November a god descended upon the world, who is only identified as a Chinese goddess of earth and creation. She was defeated not by god or godslayer, but by a human completely unversed in magic. Her name is Kusanagi Shizuka, and although she shares the seventh's surname she is not his family.

She is in general nice to get along with, but has a bossy personality. She also will not punish anyone who does her no harm, but those who do challenge her may suffer a terrible fate. Kaiji Andrewson, witch belonging to the HCC, foolishly denied Kusanagi Shizuka's feat and attacked her. Shizuka responded by showing off part of her authority, a massive pillar of flame, to defeat the challenger, and in response gave him complete amnesia as punishment.

Because neither of the two Japanese godslayers has any incentive to fight one another it should be possible to at least manage a truce between the two kings, if not more. Perhaps even sworn siblinghood compared to Lord Kusanagi's relation with Her Eminence might be reached. Recommended is that the HCC will form an alliance with both of Japan's godslayers without making one of the two seem more important than the other.

Yes, that will do. Tatsuya nods to himself, considering his explanation to be satisfactory. As he walks out of the last customs checkpoint he sees something that dampers his happiness:

Why oh why is Kusanagi Godou standing there? Right there is Kusunagi Godou, for once not accompanied by one of his girls, looking for someone coming out of the checkpoint.

Could it be that someone leaked info to the seventh king about the birth of the newest godslayer so they could directly duel it out? No, that's probably not it, the seventh is not one who would visit other kings without being attacked first. Perhaps Salvatore Doni would do such a thing, but not Kusanagi Godou. Perhaps he wants to negotiate peaceful treaties with the newest king so there won't be any fights?

"Ah, Shizuka! You landed safely." Godou calls out, seemingly ignoring the fact that he is speaking to a fellow peer.

"Onii-chan, it's good to see you too." Onii-chan?! Now Hideki is even more confused than ever. How and when did they become sworn siblings?

No, that's impossible. There is no way that these two could have advanced that quickly in their relation. So what other possibility is there?

Many ideas form in the head of Hideki. What could it be? As he crosses out more and more options he notices the two godslayers walking away. The strangest of all is that the duo do not seem to recognize each other, as Shizuka tries to keep her feat hidden under the official excuse of the large avalanche while Kusanagi Godou does not talk about any of his own victories.

So what is left? The only thing that can be thought of is that the two are actual siblings, but that contradicts an earlier statement. If that is true then why did Shizuka not say that she is related to Kusanagi Godou? All people versed in the world of magic know of the identities of the seven kings, and she did claim…

…that she is not versed in magic.

Oh.

Oooh.

It dawns: Kusanagi Godou and Kusanagi Shizuka are sibling Campione completely unaware of one another's status, for some unfathomable reason that should not be possible.

Hideki Tatsuya simply stares at the abnormality that unfolded before his eyes.

Then he faints again.

-x-

{1} Yamato Takeru: Legendary Japanese prince of the Yamato Dynasty, mostly known for wielding the Ame no Murakamo no Tsurugi.

{2} Feng Shui and Geomancy: Magic and divination based around the architectural placements of buildings and plants and overseeing the flow of mana/qi, one originating from the west and the other from the east. Both very useful for locating someone if you know the trace of mana/qi they give off.

{3} Onmyodo: Japan's own school of magic, it focuses on the sealing of supernatural beings and symbiotic relationships with the eight million gods, paying faith in return for magical miracles.

{4} Sakedon: rice dish in a bowl with thinly sliced salmon on top. Very, very spicy. Not to be confused with a certain Japanese beverage.

{5} Hanzaki Daimyojin: Japanese deity of water and the sea.

{6} Haneda airport: One of Tokyo's two major airports, this one is mainly responsible for domestic flights, like the Niseko-Tokyo flight. For international flights one usually departs from Narita International airport.

{7} Mictlantecuthli: Aztec god of the dead and king of Mictlan, the lowest section of the underworld.

{8} Pahlevani: A martial art from Iran, created by the legendary divine hero Rostam.

-x-

And once more Flagarach here!

This chapter has a severe lack of fighting in it, I'm afraid, and so does the chapter after this one. I find that it works best to write arcs over three chapters, with the first three being the "Rise to Kingship" arc. For Godou that arc would cover his fights with Verethragna, Melquart and Salvatore Doni. In Shizuka's case it is only the fight she had with Nu Wa, and the aftermath of it all.

But yeah, this story uses three chapters per arc, so in the third chapter there will be no major fighting. However, chapter 4 to 6 features the very battle-heavy "Of Knights and Fair Maidens" arc, which will include more gods and godslayers than one can count on one hand.

So yes, fun times await. For now, I want to finish off this chapter with an explanation of Shizuka's authority:

[Philosopher's Stones]
The eighth king's authority allows the summoning of the five stones representing the oriental elements. These stones can change size ranging from fitting comfortably in one's hand to equaling Shizuka's height. The [Fire] stone is as yellow as the sun, the [Water] stone is as blue as the sea, the [Earth] stone is as red as clay, the [Wood] stone is as white as birch and the [Metal] stone is as black as carbon steel.

The stones can grant supernatural abilities according to their element. These equal the divine natures of respectively [Sun], [Weather], [Earth], [Nature], and [Steel]. Each of the stones hold abnormal power, but in terms of Campione and Gods it is still relatively limited. In pure terms of direct power output the [Fire] stone could rival that of Kusanagi Godou's [White Stallion], but this would cost the entire power supply of the stone. In other words, each stone can only deliver an authority-level blow once during a fight.

Creation of divine constructs or divine beasts should be possible, but for the creation to be capable of defeating gods the lifespan of the created being would greatly diminish. The current theory is that lifespan and power are inversely proportional. However, this fact is mainly important for beings equal to divine beasts. Would Shizuka use the full power of one or two stones for the purpose of creating something that at best equals a great knight in power then it might continue to function for an entire lifetime.

An emptied stone takes seven days to fully recharge, but can be taken out at any time with whatever power is left inside of it. The stones are as indestructible as the legendary holy grail, so they can also be used as makeshift shields.