"Fear of the winged, both-ack!"
The voice cut off part way, lost in the gale force of wind as a body throttled through the sky and broke the sound barrier, creating shockwaves in its wake across the Mediterranean. Waves parted as the body drew near water, showering the area in a mist of sea salt and aquatic scent before the body cratered into the ocean floor.
An explosion of divinity displaced large volumes of water and made a temporary bubble of air at the collision point. Somewhere, a Tsunami was likely going to occur, but that was outside consideration now.
Godou groaned, imprinted onto the ocean floor, seaweed and broken shells covered his arms and legs with a muddy sensation.
His chest heaved, his organs shaking from the impact despite the durability of his body as a Campione.
He almost felt like crying.
There was just something about chants to enact Authority that was just bullshit!
Maybe if Godou had taken the time to practice his own Authorities and adjust to them, he wouldn't have such inconveniences, but much of the God fighting had been avoided at his own discretion.
So, how did things come to this?
It was the Sardinia and the Doni incidents all over again…
Blankly, Godou stared up at the moon in the dark horizon, and then listened to the sound of displaced water rushing back to drown him. These weren't the kind of waves he'd been planning on catching.
Inwardly cursing the bastard who thought Sardina would be an ideal vacation spot, Godou hastily leapt out of the ocean and was struck again by a man riding a mystical white-winged stallion.
"Slow, too slow Campione!"
What was a hero if not an icon of power and belief?
Charming face, dashing hair, white a suit and cloak, and a sword of the purest white, that was the Heretic God, Perseus, son of Zeus.
How could it be this bastard?
Rather than attack, Godou did his best to block and cling onto the winged Pegasus's tail. Beneath him was the ocean, and unlike Perseus and his mount, Godou could not fly naturally.
Muscles straining, Godou glared up at an unperturbed adversary.
"Why me?" Godou grumbled.
Enkidu had been the one to flare his energy in challenge, and Perseus clearly reciprocated.
"Hahahah, you hesitate Campione! It's a duel, a warrior's bout!" Perseus answered while a determined look soon came over his face. "He, born the mortal instrument of the Gods, at the very least deserves- oh?"
Godou hadn't been idle in Perseus's rambling. Rather, his innate battle sense had enabled him the opportunity to shift his hold from the Pegasus's tail, to its hind forelimb.
Perseus had flown Godou several miles away from Sardinia's coast, and all the way to populated Malta.
If they fought here, many people would die.
Panicking, Godou carefully searched for a suitable location while inwardly apologizing when he settled on Comino Island, a small outcropping of land between Gozo and Malta. There was a good chance Comino Island would never be the same again. But Godou had no choice, it was either here, or Perseus would drive him further down the Mediterranean and into the mainland where the old Persian Empire existed near Armenia, Assyria, and Babylonia, all of which boasted higher population centers than a tiny island.
As one of the sanest of the existing Campione, Godou always took human lives under consideration. It was only polite.
Bracing his shoulder against the Pegasus, Godou twisted his body and put strength into his rotation, throwing the Pegasus and its rider to the ground.
"Hahaha, great great! This is how a battle should be!" Perseus pulled on the Pegasus's reins at the last moment, and gracefully landed with a light trot.
The Pegasus appeared annoyed, divine energy cratering the ground beneath it as it snorted.
"Damn it you're both crazy!" Godou gritted his teeth, and hastily glanced around him to make sure the part of the island they were now fighting on was uninhabited.
Of course, it wasn't. In the modern age, humans existed in almost every part of the world except Antarctica.
In the distance, Godou could see light from houses and rural streets. He had to limit the scope of damage somehow, but while distracted with idle thoughts, Perseus struck him again, and right off the island. Forced into the air, Godou hastily grabbed the horse's tail once more, speeding him through the sky.
The Pegasus neighed in protest, and Godou's expression grew perturbed.
If Godou had thought it a coincidence that Perseus continued to drive him back through the air repeatedly, now he was sure that there was a purpose. His ignorance however, was the only contributing factor of his inability to grasp Perseus's intentions.
The Heretic God Perseus's roots stemmed to the God Marduck, Ancient Mesopotamian Deity and Patron of Babylon, the former political center of the Euphrates.
It was a location of natural empowerment, and the location Perseus deemed worthy of battle.
Dismounting from his Pegasus, Perseus landed outside the distant ancient walls of Babylonia.
Meanwhile, Godou tumbled over the ground as the Pegasus neighed and dispelled itself. Spitting dirt out of his mouth, a vein finally popped over Godou's temples. Damn the Gods. He just wanted to be normal! Was it too much to ask?!
Getting up onto his feet, Perseus stood with a dignity and poise that heavily contrasted Godou's disheveled appearance. That alone contributed to helping Godou lose more of his reservations. It was a face and image of a man who never looked so damned punchable.
"I shall allow you the first blow, Campione." Perseus flourished his cape and raised his sword in defense. "I can tell you're still a fledgling."
Godou's face twitched, but he didn't move. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that his avatars required certain conditions to activate.
"Will you not attack? Will you simply mutter under your breath?" Perseus said in befuddlement before shaking his head. "Ah, I see. You too are a warrior. Then allow me."
Godou's pupils dilated at the sheer speed of Perseus's strike. However, he'd experienced it beforehand and was already preparing himself by silently chanting the words.
As Perseus's sword approached him at God Speed, the incantation had already concluded.
"...All shall fear I who hold these feathered wings!"
The Avatar of the Raptor, possessing divine speed and extreme lightness. The condition for activation was an attack with speed that surpassed ordinary parameters.
Authority swelled around him, enveloping Godou in a white hue as he deftly avoided Perseus's strikes by a hair's breadth.
The both possessed comparable speed, leaving afterimages in their wake, and the ground to erupt with gusts of wind at their steps.
Evading an overhead strike, Godou retaliated with a spirited punch, but that too was avoided by Perseus. Neither one of them had landed a solid hit yet.
A smile worked its way up Perseus's mouth.
"Commendable agility, but is that all?" He asked.
That in itself was the problem.
Godou grimaced. The Raptor granted divine speed, but its ability to inflict damage was limited to a Campione's natural strength. Beyond that, it meant nothing if neither could land a hit on the other, but that was a false impression.
Godou's divine speed would not last as the strain of extraneous movement took its toll on his body.
His hand clutched over his heart. Untrained, he couldn't last with the Raptor much longer.
Godou threw another punch, but at this point Perseus decided to shrug it off to trade a blow for a blow. The difference was, Perseus was using a sword.
Knowing that the limits of his speed were approaching, Godou could only gamble. As Perseus's attack drew near, Godou swung out with an elbow to deflect Perseus's strike to his stomach rather than his heart.
Unimaginable pain erupted throughout Godou's body as the sword pierced through the sinew of his flesh and out the other side, but this pain was not without recompense.
"All evildoers, tremble before my strength..." Godou forced the words out as blood threatened to spill from his mouth.
Unable to hold it, Godou coughed the blood out, but he gripped tightly onto Peresus's sword arm. In an instant, he shifted to the Avatar of the greatest combat ability, battle instinct, and self recovery, activated by taking strenuous injury. "Upon my mighty self, I shall bear the symbol of the raging camel!"
A kick to the sternum sent Perseus flying, his sword dislodging and distending Godou's wound, but through the vitality of the camel, the wound quickly healed.
Increased leg strength and defense, enabled Godou to quickly chase Perseus through the air and appear on top of him.
"Now is the time that I obtain the toughness of ten mountains, the strength of a hundred rivers, and the power of a thousand camels!"
He stomped down, crumpling Perseus's body over his feet, but the sensation of hitting metal spread through the entirety of Godou's legs. The feeling caused a shudder to go down his spine, but the attack rapidly accelerated Perseus into the ground.
Smashing into stone, the earth depressed at the point of impact, forming a crater that Perseus silently stood out of. The bastard hardly appeared winded.
"As expected of a camel's tenacity," Perseus murmured, hair growing disheveled. "Then what about strength?"
Godou's eyes widened when Perseus appeared directly in front of him and tackled him into a grapple. His body groaned at the pressure, but that too was an activation condition of another Avatar.
"O' mighty bull that possesseth the horns of shining gold, grant me your aid!"
Muscles bulging, Godou began straining against Perseus's hold, his strength parameters rising to match Perseus's own. Or at least, it usually would have.
"Impressive, but not enough!"
"W-What?" Godou's strength suddenly waned, and Perseus wrestled him into the dirt.
The legend of Mithras was another part of the amalgamation of Gods that was Perseus, and Verethragna was a subordinate God of Mithras. All Gods subordinate to Mithras had their Authorities countered or simply negated.
The nonchalance in Perseus's eyes hadn't been due to simple confidence, but knowledge of the Authorities of Verethragna that Godou wielded.
Grunting, Godou could only stifle a scream as Perseus got his left arm into an armbar and promptly snapped it in the wrong direction.
Left arm growing limp, Perseus shifted his center of weight and hurled Godou into the distance.
Hastily digging his feet into the ground, Godou panted for breath while clutching the break on his left elbow. Goosebumps were running over his skin, and his focus and awareness had never been so clear.
As it was now, he stood no chance at victory.
"Godou!"
Erica appeared with her sword drawn and a strike already poised at Perseus from the back. She was unable to see the indifference on Perseus's face the way Godou could from his perspective.
"Erica don't!" Godou called in warning.
Perseus frowned and slapped out with his hand, yet reconsidered at the last moment when he saw Erica's face. Instead, there was an almost hypnotic glow in his eyes that froze Erica in place. It was the activation of another Authority gained upon Mithras slaying of the Mother Earth Goddess, Tiamat.
"I-I can't move." Erica stammered, trying to do anything. The effort was feeble, no matter how hard she tried. "An Authority?"
A soft smile crept over Perseus's face.
"Fair maiden, thou shall not interfere in honored combat." He declared. "Step to the side and await your Hero's arrival."
"Y-You bastard," Erica growled as her body moved outside her own control. All magic she was using dispersed, and her robotic steps forced her to watch on the sidelines.
"Oh feisty? Would you like to fight your champion then?" Perseus offered.
"..." Erica could tell without saying anything what her body would do if Perseus gave the order. Rather than be forced to fight Godou, she'd rather keep quiet on the side.
Staring at Godou, Erica's features dropped while Godou gnashed his teeth.
Perseus directly countered Godou in every possible way. The only method to win was to cut off the root of Mithras's Authority over subordinate Gods, and for that, Verathragna's Warrior Avatar was required.
The Warrior was Godou's best Avatar, but he unfortunately lacked the knowledge required to use it.
In another timeline, perhaps Athena would have bailed him out in retaliation against Perseus, but this was different. Godou was on his own.
"Shall we settle this Campione?" Perseus grinned.
Tensing, Godou's thoughts began rapidly searching for any possibility. The bruises over his body ached while cuts and lacerations delivered sharp pain with every movement.
At that moment, a tide of familiar emerald coloured Authority suddenly blanketed the area.
"…Enkidu." Godou murmured apprehensively.
As chains of clay floated over the horizon, mixed feelings assailed Godou's thoughts.
Despite Enkidu's nature and personality, Godou could never have good feelings under Enkidu's presence. Godou's nature as a Campione and Enkidu's aversion to Pandora's machinations made sure of that.
The nature of Campione and Heretic Gods could be restrained out of courtesy, making it bearable to work as colleagues, but Enkidu was different.
Enkidu believed in human potential and perseverance. Campione who cast aside their humanity to gain a God's Authority to usurp Authorities was a perversion of the original intent, and Enkidu's gaze was never friendly with them.
Regardless, there was no denying Enkidu's reliability as an ally to mankind, and Godou found himself inwardly relieved. Unfortunately, that relief did not last when the chains drew near.
Standing upon the tip of large chains were the magicians of the Mediterranean magic cabals. More than Godou, Erica looked the most stunned at the development.
Humans were not meant to bare the brunt of a God's wrath, and yet-
"The enemy seems to possess an Authority that controls women." A magician declared after leaping off the transporting chains. "Men advance, women to the rear!"
No. No stop.
Godou wanted to shout. Having experienced Perseus's strength and capability, he knew better than anyone what result would come from human interference.
They were all going to die.
Indeed, Perseus was less than pleased with the defiance shown by ordinary humans borrowing their magic from the Authority of Gods. It reminded him of old memories.
"Stop!" Godou yelled. "Don't come closer, you don't know who-!"
The clanking of chains echoed directly next to Godou's ears. Stiffly craning his gaze back, he saw Enkidu hovering silently over the ground.
A stern gaze of clay spoke to Godou with a cold indifference belying a rising sense of satisfaction.
"Hand in hand, Campione." Enkidu's Authority soared, coalescing over himself and those he deemed comrades, arm in arm. "Do not interfere with what you do not understand."
Anger swells in Godou's expression for the first time directed fully on Enkidu.
"They'll all die!" Godou cursed, glaring at Enkidu's indifference.
No, not indifference. It was something more than that.
"With their own means, their strengths, and their weaknesses, mankind still carries the torch of a new era."
Enkidu shook his head and levitated to join the battle.
"In time, you Campione will see what you have forsaken."
A palpable tension filled the area, the magic charged air derived from Authority creating ripples from heavy pressure.
Amid chaos and overwhelming odds, the will to fight, to stand, for any mortal may appear insurmountable, but that was why there was merit in that show of resistance. Even if the cost was death, there were some actions that were more symbolic than they were practical.
A deluge of mortal magics hailed down over Perseus like rain, cut away by a sword moving at blinding speeds. All mortal magic is derived from the borrowed Authority of the Gods, making it inherently inefficient against the Authority used by the Gods.
Expectedly, the innumerable number of attacks was thwarted with just one.: A final slash filled with divinity that rends through borrowed Authority with overwhelming force.
With that strike alone, bodies fell and joined the embrace of the earth, but in this trail by fire the determination to willingly fly like moths to a flame carried its own significance.
Clay rose to envelope the fallen, shining with the Divine Authority of vitality imbued within Mother Earth Goddess.
This was never a fight with humans alone, but with a weapon that had gained its sentience and sided with mankind's potential.
Shirou in the guise of Enkidu formed numerous weapons of clay and launched them forward to act as a cover to the first wave of injured. No sooner than when he thought to do so, the direction of the weapons were diverted and instead shot into the hands of those who lacked the means to kill.
"Do not protect them. Fight with them."
Enkidu's voice echoed in Shirou's head, his body floating through the air like a bullet, chains of spilling from forth from his sleeves.
Just like Godou had said, these people were dying in their valiance, but their eyes had never looked so alive.
With firm grips, the weapons of clay offered were accepted without exception.
If magic and borrowed Authority would not work, then the strength of the human body should strive forward.
A vein suddenly popped over Perseus's temples as nostalgia bled into frustrated reminiscence.
The arrogance of humans fueled by their rebellious King.
The betrayal of the ultimate weapon meant to cull mortal hubris.
An Epic passed down from generation to generation as if it was some large accomplishment.
"Enkidu," Perseus called, dropping the pretense of a chivalrous hero, and adopting the guise of Marduck, High-God of Mesopotamia. "You insurgent tool of the Gods, has nothing changed?!"
Shirou didn't deign to answer, Enkidu was the same, rather, the Authority surrounding him pulsed.
The men of the Mediterranean's magic cabals reached Perseus and donned their weapons of primitive clay.
Perseus decapitated the nearest enemy, carried his momentum forward, and then palmed a screaming man's face before crushing it with divine strength.
Godou grimaced in the distance, hurriedly making his way to Erica.
"Give up." Perseus hissed. "With borrowed magics not of your own, with bodies weaker than sheep, what do you all expect?! Then and now, nothing has changed!"
The words were met only with action.
Shame of cowardice, and the truth of humanity shirking from confrontation with the Gods and even Campione left only deep-seated frustration and resentment.
Authority is borrowed to enact magic, but who was to say that all magic must stem from the Gods?
Was that not hubris?
Shirou felt it first as a man who hailed from a story outside of the world's history.
As the mortals fought, desperately blocking Perseus's strikes and barely able to counter by targeting blind spots, a thrum of Prana was charging the air.
The age of the Gods never ended in this world, and the first magics were all borrowed from Authority, leaving little need to explore other avenues of magic and magecraft.
Research was only a necessity, not a requirement.
Shirou suddenly understood. What Enkidu believed in as 'potential' in humans wasn't solely for their physical or magic parameters, but the latent and untapped power stored within.
Even in Shirou's world, he'd heard of ordinary magi reaching the pinnacle of power comparable to the Gods.
Perhaps it wasn't that all magic had to stem from Authority in this world, rather instead, they'd just never tried anything else?
To be a magus was to walk with death.
Shirou could see it real time. For all those that died under Perseus's sword, the few that lived began to burn with a unique aura that Enkidu was catalyzing with his Authority.
Until finally-
The first spark of human magic was born.
Enshrouding the edge of one of Enkidu's clay weapons, it finally enabled a human to stand his ground against a God for the briefest of moments.
The blow was off-handed, lacking any proper skill and more akin to swatting at a fly, but the fly suddenly became a rock that was bounced away after a slight resistance.
"That's right, just like that," Enkidu murmured.
Shirou only listened distantly to Enkidu's ramblings and focused intently on Perseus.
The moment Perseus was getting annoyed and resummoned his Pegasus, Shirou quickly bounds it down with numerous chains that sprouted from the earth.
Surrounded by more and more men that began to step upon the boundary known as magecraft, it was inevitably when an unlikely blow grazed Perseus's side and tore open his pristine white cloak.
Perseus snapped. His attackers may as well have been insects fated to be swept away, but their tenacity was unending. He cut dozens in half, slit numerous throats, and pierced the hearts of many, and yet that damn vitality of the Earth Goddess Enkidu supplied stubbornly augmented its humans.
If they didn't die instantly, they would be healed.
"Are you just going to watch?!" Perseus finally spoke in the direction of Venus not as Perseus, but as a Deity from Mesopotamia, Marduck.
A shudder travelled down Shirou's back, followed by an overbearing sense of anger that Shirou realized originated from Enkidu.
Without warning, divine thunder and lightning ravaged down and struck from the imperious heavens as the ground shook underfoot.
As if drawn to Enkidu, the writhing bolts of electricity arced and struck him, the explosion charring flesh and scorching his white clothes.
Wincing, Shirou fell out of the sky.
"Enkidu!" Erica and the others called in concern.
The only reason Perseus was being held up by the magic cabal's men was the auxiliary support Enkidu was providing with his Authority.
Shirou crashed into the ground, tumbling while jutting his hands and legs out to halt his momentum. Upon stopping, he quickly rolled left on instinct, another bolt of lightning shooting down on the spot he landed. Hitting the ground, the lightning spread out into tendrils that barely missed Shirou as he floated off the ground.
Gazing up, a dark shadow was cast over the land, hiding the moonlight while the scent of ozone and countering Authority stifled Enkidu's own.
This feeling.
Shirou let out a deep breath, turning his head sharply in the direction of the heavens.
The figure before him was massive.
A towering bull adorned with ornamental armor and ceremonial red silks whose face reached the height of the clouds. Intermittent flashes of lightning flickered across its hooves and traveled up the length of its limbs congregating to the horns above the head. Sparking, ark lights erupted from the horns and illuminated the eerie glow of the bull's red eyes and flawless dark pelt.
"Gugalanna," Enkidu whispered solemnly.
Without warning, another bolt of lightning struck down, forcing Shirou to block with a hastily made wall of clay that shattered on impact. Chunks of clay ricocheted and smashed into Shirou's side, sending him off balance and back onto the ground as he grimaced.
He tried to form clay using Enkidu's Authority, but the response was weak, far slower than usual.
From legend to lore, the being known as Enkidu could never defeat the Bull of Heaven alone. It was the divine beast that slew Enkidu upon the battle's end, carrying a natural suppression in the same manner as Mithras to Verethragna.
Shakily getting up onto his feet, Shirou could hear only silence from Enkidu within him.
The situation was hopeless without resorting to other means, and Shirou wasn't above doing so. He'd been limiting himself to Enkidu's Authorities to prevent arousing suspicion and speculation and maintain the impression of Arturia's 'Authority.'
This was different.
He couldn't allow himself to hold back against something like this when sustained damage was already causing his vision to swim.
"Trace On." He murmured, Authority cycling within him.
What he needed was a sword to counter a beast, carrying a legend to empower Authority.
The result?
All at once, the energy halted, and the expression of Enkidu's gaze went cold. His Tracing was directly stalled, and the answer regarding why was all too blatant.
"No." Enkidu was firm, a blaze of fire flickering within his eyes.
Chains of clay rappelled into the ground and forcibly pulled him out of a hail storm of lightning.
'This is pointless!' Shirou argued inwardly, fighting to get back control of his own body.
"Pointless?" Enkidu spoke softly, but his actions were anything but. Wrestling full control as the current body resembled Enkidu's own far more than Shirou's original form, Enkidu for the first time moved wholly on his own.
Shirou's inexperienced hovering and flying techniques were immediately elevated under Enkidu's direct control. The lightning could not touch him, the steps of the mighty bull could not reach him.
"Be silent and watch. I can give way for many things, but not on this. Not here. This is her doing surely."
Enkidu splayed his arms to the side, an innumerable number of chains spilling forth and dragging behind him. A swift and nimble turn, and the metal protrusions attracted the next strike of lightning before the chain links severed as the divine lightning began to crawl up.
"For a sword such as yourself, do you not understand?"
Enkidu zipped across the skies, then followed down the river of the Euphrates. The sheer size of Gugalanna enabling it to keep Enkidu in sight while attacking.
"A weapon is only as strong as its owner."
Enkidu continued to evade, at times tanking blows, while at others redirecting the strikes to disperse into the Authority of the Earth.
"And while yours may not be here, that mindless and witless Goddess never fails to leave an oversight."
Shirou glanced around him, a picture suddenly dawning in his mind as Enkidu directly shared his thoughts.
"The conditions were set from the start."
-Men that defy the Gods.
-Brave men that stand up despite their mortality.
It wouldn't have been possible without that first step: Proof of the fire that had yet to die.
It was a return of the stubborn defiance of separation and childhood's end.
"Sword, look and behold!"
Enkidu stopped running and halted in the air, facing down the visage of the Bull of Heaven.
Perseus had chosen the battleground as the Mesopotamian God, Marduck, but he wasn't the only God tied to this mythos.
"Where do we stand?! Where do we fight?!"
The point Enkidu chose to hold his ground was none other than the place where it all began. An origin point and enactment of the story passed down from generation to generation.
In the ancient land of Sumer that bordered Babylonia near the forgotten walls of Uruk, a catastrophe of the heavens encroaches upon the livelihood of the people.
Bang!
The ground shakes at the bull's steps.
Bzt!
The skies darken amidst the strikes of lightning.
Thrum!
And the wrath of the Gods descends on mankind's rebellion.
Screams echoed from where Perseus was continuing a slaughter.
The winds stirred, blowing violently in the face of adversity.
Enkidu's flowing green hair whipped back, neutral expression shifting into a savage grin.
Blinding light parts the clouds.
"Will he who stood at the end and beginning of an era remain idle?"
No. Never.
A voice steepled in arrogance shook the air in a descent of golden Authority.
.
.
.
"-This day and never again."
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