Ayodia
Two days earlier, an explosion equivalent to a nuclear bomb had ravaged this part of Italy. It was now an area closed by the police and the army. Entry was forbidden.
Yet a group of people stood in the middle of this devastated zone. In the center of a ring of holographic screens, Hakuno Kishinami finished explaining the tactics she had imagined to defeat the King of the End.
Without looking at anyone in particular, the teenager nodded her head firmly while shaking her hands together in a gesture similar to a prayer.
"Stay coordinated. Everyone's task, but all together. Understood?"
People around her looked at the diagrams or reread the texts displayed by the screens, others focused mainly on the replays of the previous fight against Rama.
They were big names among the people who attended this briefing.
First, three Campiones:
John Pluto Smith, the mysterious American superhero (and -incidentally- king of fairies).
Lord Salvatore Doni, the Italian Devil King, was nicknamed the Heretic Swordman.
And Gudou Kusanagi, the Japanese Godslayer, whom some called the Harem King.
Then came a Heretic God:
Lancelot du Lac, one of the knights of Arthur... or Rama. In fact, she was the Queen of the Amazons, the daughter of the god of war Ares, and the granddaughter of Zeus. This God of Steel was once the most faithful ally of the King of the End. But the Strongest Steel had betrayed Lancelot, using her as a simple pawn. The 'Knight King' had denied all chivalry, all leniencies, going so far as to finish off the wounded.
The anomaly of Lancelot's relationship with the next member of the expedition could not be overstated:
Guinevere was a Divine Ancestor, that is, a mortal with a divine origin. In her case, She was the reincarnation of the goddess Gwenhwyfar... the creator of the Holy Grail. As the reincarnation of a Mother Goddess, she was the natural enemy of the God of Steel... like Lancelot. Yet, the paragon of the knights served with dedication the Witch Queen of Brittany In addition, The Amazon considered her a beloved little sister... and as it was normally the Divine Ancestors who served the Heretics God and not the other way around... their relationship was doubly atypical.
Then came humans... but none of them could be called normal.
First, Godou's harem:
The Italian Erica Blandelli, his first 'wife', a woman knight nicknamed the Diavolo Rosso (Red Devil); the Japanese Yuri Mariya, his second 'wife' a Hime-Miko; the Croatian Liliana Kranjcar, his third wife, a woman knight; the Japanese Eina Sheishuuin, his fourth wife, nicknamed the Hime-Miko of the Sword.
Among the magical societies of the Campioneverse it was said Godou Kusanagi's most potent power was not one of his multiple Authorities, but this group of talented and dedicated women, ready to die for their 'husband'.
Moreover, while Hakuno Kishinami explained the battle plan they were going to apply against Rama, Godou had gone to kiss each of his women, one after the other... an activity undoubtedly pleasant... but which was mainly intended to make them drink his saliva. The Youth Authority, one of Verethragna's Ten Avatars, grants the divine protection of the god of Victory to others, giving them the vitality of a Campione, and magical protection.
The last in this list but not the last by abilities was Shirou Emiya, a user of an unknown form of magic. He specialized in a... 'Magecraft' called 'Projection' which allowed him to create magical constructs, replicas of the weapons used by the heroes of his home world.
It was an alliance of brave and powerful people, armed with divine powers and godly weapons (and even including an authentic goddess). It would have been necessary to go back to the mythological era before the gods took refuge in their Legends (except the Heretics Gods, of course) to find so many heroes united for the same cause. They could be compared to the Argonauts who went in search of the Golden Fleece, or to the heroes who had participated in the Trojan War.
But all were focused, listening attentively to Hakuno's explanations. None believed that the fight ahead would end in an easy victory. Of course, Rama had lost all his allies and he was badly weakened in the previous clash... nevertheless, Luo Hao and Black Prince Alec had perished while Ishtar, Ereshkigal, and Sasha Dejanstahl Voban had been severely injured, which was the reason for their absence.
They won only by a miracle. Ereshkigal had trapped The King of the End in Kur - the Kingdom of the Dead she was the queen of- and confronted him not only using all her powers but also those of her sister Ishtar, whom she had usurped.
As Ereshkigal's will was sovereign in the kingdom of Kur, her victory seemed inevitable. However, Excalibur had turned the tables.
The sword was the ultimate Divine Authority forged by the gods of destiny. It was the sum of all their power! In addition, Rama had the Holy Grail, and the Holy Cup was filled with the power of several Mother Goddesses... the Strongest Steel had drawn from it enough strength to defeat the Queen of the Netherworld at full power in her own kingdom!
Fortunately, Lancelot du Lac had witnessed the outrageous behavior of 'King Arthur' and intervened. Turning against her king, she had challenged him to confront her or flee 'like a coward'. Wounded and exhausted, Rama had preferred to leave.
Hakuno looked at her allies and then clenched her fists. Her narrow face, so expressionless usually, showed her resolve.
"Rama wants to kill all the Campions. Without Campione to protect the world, the Heretics Gods will be free to do what they want."
Most of the heroes who listened to Hakuno nodded their heads, with pale faces or clenching their fists. A Heretic God was literally an intelligent natural disaster. For example, a god of the sea could trigger tidal waves or storms at will. Worse than that, the mere presence of a Heretic God changed the laws of nature. When a god of war stayed in a region, the slightest incident could degenerate into a bloody feud, and the slightest diplomatic skirmish with a neighboring country provoked wars...
And of course, the gods were jealous and resentful, arguing among themselves while using humans as pawns in their arguments and amusements.
Smith nodded.
"With each appearance of the King who Rule at the End of Time, the Campiones were wiped out and humanity entered a dark age that lasted several centuries. I let you imagine what would happen if the Heretic Gods started 'playing' with the current humanity. The 21st-century man has nuclear weapons, genetic engineering... it could be The True End of Time, the Bible Apocalypse, Ragnarok, the Fall of the Fifth Sun... call it the way you want."
Shirou had listened in silence to the enigmatic masked Campione. He smiled in a disillusioned manner.
"It means that each of us must be willing to sacrifice ourselves so that we can win. Maybe that's what..."
But he could not finish what he was going to say because Godou interrupted him.
"I hate this kind of pessimism. Shirou, if you have the power to save the world, you have to survive. For you, for those who love you, and for those who will need you the next time a threat arises. I say we will win and come back alive... all... because this time we have all the advantages. Rama is not waiting for us, we will take him by surprise and we have a battle plan that exploits his weaknesses. This time we will win."
His intervention was immediately greeted by an enthusiastic ovation from his harem but also by Lord Salvatore Doni. Brandishing his sword towards the sky, the Italian Campione summed up all this very (too) simply.
"Well... we just have to cut Rama in two...What are we waiting for?"
In the audience, several people facepalmed. No, it wasn't that simple, but Doni was an idiot and he didn't understand a single word of Hakuno's explanations.
"It was here at this place, that Susanoo led a thousand unruly deities in rebellion. A thousand swords standing upon the earth, used as city walls to defend against the enemies."
Levant Ame no Murakumo above his head, Godou Kusanagi invoked one of the most impressive Authorities that the divine weapon could give his user: the ability to copy other Divine Authorities.
"Summon Vimana!"
And a copy of the flying chariot used by Rama appeared before them, materializing above Godou. Actually, the spacecraft resembled a three-story Rath (the central tower of a Brahmist temple) with many windows. The base of the tower was a kind of mirror of a metal that looked like mercury; this disc was able to 'reflect the force of gravity'.
"Embark, next stop, Rama's orbital city."
The Vimana was vast.
The first floor was the engine room, and the third floor was the cockpit where Godou and a few others were. But most of the heroes were on the second floor, the floor where the cabins were.
Leaning against a wall, Lancelot was thinking.
The Queen of the Amazons had a brief smile when she realized that she was not used to introspection. Usually, she was content to rely on her value system, simple but honorable, and apply her own kind solutions let's say... the direct style ones.
The paragon of the knights turned to Guinevere. The Witch Queen was very restless, her little hands twisted the fabric of her dress and her face was anxious. Not only did the eternal little girl doubt their chances of victory, but part of her also wondered by what twist of fate she had come to wish the death of the one she had always admired. For a hundred years, as in all her previous incarnations, the Witch of Brittany had never had another purpose other than to meet 'King Arthur' and give him the Grail.
She had succeeded, and that was the origin of the present drama...
Perhaps it would have been better if Alexander Gascoigne had killed her in their clash in London.
Guinevere paled, reliving the moment when she had nearly died in the Campione's Labyrinth.
"King Alexander, you can kill me. But have a good taste of your triumph because I, Guinevere, foretold you this, the return of the King of the End is near. And His Majesty will avenge the death of His Handmaiden!"
Alec simply sighed and shook his head, apparently not impressed by the threat.
"We shall see, Queen Guinevere. But I can assure you that I will sleep quietly... I am not afraid of King Arthur's return. I leave you to your illusions about the King of the End. It would be cruel if I told you the truth. Consider your ignorance a last gift..."
At that point, the Witch of Brittany felt that Alexander Gascoigne was not lying. She understood that the Black Prince knew something about 'King Arthur' that she did not know.
No doubt the British Campione knew that 'King Arthur' was none other than Rama and that the Strongest Steel was nothing like a chivalrous king... but Alec had preferred to say nothing. Did he feel sorry for her? Maybe... But in this case, it was cruel in another way. Because deep down her archnemesis, the King of Thieves, had proved to be more chivalrous than... 'King Arthur'.
During the fight, Black Prince Alec told her he was far more worthy of the Holy Grail than 'King Arthur'... now Guinevere agreed. If she had died in London, the world wouldn't be in such danger.
"I should have killed Rama when I had the chance," Lancelot suddenly said.
Guinevere jolted and turned to her lifelong friend, her protector.
"Sir Knight?"
The Amazon shrugged
"Isn't it obvious? If I had killed him everything would be over."
The face of the Divine Ancestor and her eyes then showed a wisdom that far exceeded that of the little girl of 12-13 years whose she had the appearance (and sometimes the behavior). More than a hundred years old, Guinevere managed a Covent of Witches, she was much wiser than she seemed.
"And why did you oppose the King of the End, Sir Knight?"
The knight goddess had a sniff of contempt.
"He was going to kill Ereshkigal."
"A person unable to defend himself," stressed Guinevere.
"Yes, it was not worthy of a knight."
"And this humble Guinevere agrees with Sir Knight's decision, and that is why she followed you in your revolt against our former king. But if Sir Lancelot had attacked The Strongest Steel while he was wounded and exhausted, Sir Lancelot would have adopted his enemy's methods rather than fighting him."
Little used to thinking, her forehead pleated, Lancelot struggled with a more complex problem than b beating hard the one who contradicted her... She was certainly not stupid, far from it, but the Queen of the Amazons was not used to complex questions. Her world was simplest.
"I realize that I have always let others determine what is right or wrong and I don't really know what is right."
"When you doubt, be yourself and you'll know what to do."
Lancelot frowned and smiled.
"It sounds like a Buddhist sermon."
This made Guinevere laugh.
"Maybe it is... This Guinevere heard that somewhere and thought that this reasoning was right and so this Guinevere adopted it. You know, Sir Knight this humble handmaiden has always admired you for the firmness of your convictions. You know who you are, Sir Knight, and from there you know where you're going."
"But I still think I should have killed Rama."
Guinevere shook her head slowly.
"Sir Knight, have you heard anyone reproach you?"
"No, but I..."
"Let me finish, please. Sir Godou, Sir Shirou, Sir Salvatore, Lady Erica and Lady Liliana are knights, they understand. Actualy, it was by approving your decision to let the Strongest Steel go, that our allies showed they were honorable people."
Lancelot's beautiful face tightened slightly but her eyes still reflected doubt.
"I understand all this. I understand that I would have betrayed myself... but it would have been better for the rest of the world."
The Queen of the Amazons looked at her hands, surprisingly feminine for a swordwomen and finished with pearly nails, the thin fingers trembled slightly.
"Perhaps it was a sacrifice to make? If this knight had accepted for once not to..."
"No!"
Grasping Lancelot's face, Guinevere forced the female knight to look at her.
"Sir Knight, never speak like that again. You know, this Guinevere has been thinking a lot about why our former king behaved the way he did. And the opinion of this humble handmaiden is that at one time Rama was an honorable and chivalrous god, eager to work for the good of all... He was exactly the god we admired and chose to serve. Unfortunately, the Strongest Steel failed to bring peace and prosperity. Despite his repeated attempts, despite his power, and his many Authorities, the King who Rule at World's End has known only failure and bitterness. And he thought that if being honorable and chivalrous did not save humanity then he would use cunning, betrayal... all the necessary means. And gradually, he became a monster capable of destroying everything to impose on others his notion of peace. This Guinevere believes that a man who once accepts to sacrifice his honor and mercy for the sake of efficiency will do it a second time, then a third time... until he no longer finds any meaning in meekness and honor, becoming a lawless murderer. There is a lesson to be learned from this. If one uses wood to build his house, one will have a wooden house. If one uses stone, one will have a stone house. Similarly, if treason and dishonorable acts are used, one will never build a utopia of peace and prosperity."
He had a moment of silence, Lancelot reflecting on what her friend had just explained. But suddenly a spark of humor flashed in her eyes as she suppressed a desire to laugh.
A little upset, the Witch of Brittany looked at her with surprise.
"Sir Knight? Did This Guinevere say anything funny without realizing it?"
The Amazon made a gesture of appeasement.
"No, it's not that... I just realized that the King of End believes that the end justifies the means."
Guinevere frowned at her... the Witch Queen knew her friend had a strange sense of humor.
"This humble handmaiden doesn't understand what's so fun, Sir Knight."
But Lancelot would laugh harder and harder, wiping her eyes.
"You don't understand?'The king of the End' and 'the end justifies the means'... it's ridiculous! It's funny in a weird way. Rama is the greatest of all the God of Steel with the most glorious ideal... But when things don't turn out the way he wants, he makes a whim like a child... like some sort of third-rate thug, utilizing probably the argument most often used by those who are unable to see beyond their immediate profits. It is the comic of the absurd."
The laughter of the Amazon must have been contagious because Guinevere began to smile.
Shirou Emiya and Liliana Kranjcar had just come down from the bridge and were talking in the central corridor when they heard waves of laughter coming from an open door. Intrigued they glanced and... they saw Guinevere and Lancelot in each other's arms. The two girls were crying from laughing...
The redhead smiled.
"They're in good spirits anyway."
Shirou had the reflex to grab Liliana by the shoulder before she hit the opposite wall. She wouldn't have hurt herself for so little, because she was protected by the Youth Authority... but the redhead was a gentleman.
The Croatian knight did not even have time to thank the Faker that a new jolt shook the Vimana
Shirou heard the machines on the floor below that were rising in power as a vibration shook the strange spaceship of the Hindu gods. He suddenly understood what was happening:
"We are under attack!"
He began to run, followed by the knight woman. They quickly climbed the stairs. The floor above was a single room with walls that drew the contours of the outer hull. Large bay windows allowed the exterior to be seen.
Godou drove the Vimana by thought, accelerating and slowing down, changing direction frequently. However, for the fourth time, an explosion shook the spacecraft.
"I won't last very long" swore Godou.
On a virtual screen floating beside the command chair, Shirou saw a representation of the situation. A flying city had been spotted by the Vimana detectors. Suddenly, multiple projectiles appeared heading toward Godou's Vimana. Other projectiles of different types, then fireballs that moved erratically, were fired in several rounds
Clinging to the chair of Japanese's Campione, Hakuno used the Moon Cell's Regalia to make appear a virtual screen.
"Trajectory" she simply says.
Quickly looking at the image that showed a flight plane zigzagging between the salvos of projectiles, Godou nodded.
"Thank you."
The Last Master of the Moon was endowed with almost perfect kinesic vision, for her the projectiles fired by the local version of Avalon were... slow. The second talent that placed her far above ordinary humans was her innate strategic ability. She had managed to understand the attack pattern of the space island's automatic defenses and extrapolate a safe trajectory after only a few shots.
Except that some of the projectiles were homing missiles that followed the intruder. Fortunately, the Vimana also had weapons and Godou destroyed them one after the other using lasers.
Shirou approached and clung to the armrest of the pilot's chair as a new swerve shook the Hindu spacecraft.
"We have to fight back."
"I'd like to," replied the Japanese Campione. With one hand he pointed to a screen where a representation of the Vimana Ayodia, the flying city of Rama, appeared. "But our weapons cannot cross such a powerful shield."
"That sounds fun," says the Italian Campione. "Let me do it".
All those present turned to Salvatore Doni, until then he had been content to applaud Godou's maneuvers and cheer him loudly... being more annoying than useful... Although quite stupid, he must have understood that everyone doubted him because he frowned.
"Take a good look!"
He raised one arm, hand outstretched.
"O Sword that pierces enemies with but a single swing. For the sake of plundering all life from creation, shine with brilliance!"
Doni's arm was now covered with a layer of silver, as he appealed to Ripping Silver Arm, an Authority he had acquired after killing the Heretic God Nuada.
A little everywhere around the earth, ordinary iron meteorites suddenly turned into swords and accelerated suddenly... rushing towards Ayodia.
The huge city was made of stone houses, palaces surrounded by narrow towers that looked like pencils, as well as massive temples. A few days earlier, during the confrontation between Rama and Altera, much of the city had been ravaged. Nevertheless, the Strongest Steel had repaired everything with one thought.
But, again, the city was under attack.
The projectiles arrived from all sides, handled with the dexterity that a master swordsman would use to compel a less gifted opponent to discover a vital area to hurt him.
The first projectiles were intercepted by the flack lasers and destroyed in an instant but others arrived and their trajectories were more and more bizarre, even downright absurd... Lord Savaltore Doni was not nicknamed 'the Heretic Swordman' for no reason. He was probably the best swordsman alive on Earth... because, despite his lack of intelligence, his 'stupid' attacks always ended up delivering results in an unpredictable way (1).
As openings appeared in Ayodia's shield then the automatic defense fired against Godou's Vimana, Lord Salvatore retaliated with a salvo of swords to saturate the gun emplacements. The timing of the attack was incredibly accurate and one of the swords crossed the lattice of laser beams and dodged the anti-missiles fired by towers, before going through the opening in the shield.
The weapon was a sword created by a Divine Authority. Of course, it was a blade that far surpassed the magical weapons forged by mortals, but in addition, the Italian Campione could add special properties to every sword he created. Thus, if he faced an opponent with a powerful healing factor, Lord Salvatore Doni used a cursed weapon that prevented the healing of wounds.
This time, the sword was created to explode...
Running between the streets of the city at forty meters per second, the weapon struck a high tower that fired fireballs...
The explosion was incredibly powerful. An ordinary city would have been destroyed instantly. Nevertheless, Ayodia was the materialization of a Divine Authority. Its houses were not made of stone but of divine energy in tangible form.
When the blast dissipated the street was now ripped open by a large smoking crater and several buildings had collapsed.
On board Godou Kusanagi's Vimana, all had seen the explosion.
But they also saw the minimal effect of the attack.
John Pluto Smith turned to Hakuno.
"I will help Lord Salvatore, he will never succeed alone!"
The girl replied with a simple nod, accepting the modification of the battle plan.
Smith walked to a partition and smashed one of the luminous bulbs that illuminated the interior of the Vimana... since the Authority that was going to resort required the sacrifice of a source of light.
"By my name as the king of the underworld, I hereby decree. Make offerings to the legs of the beast traversing the dark night. O Light, thou needst only to illuminate my path towards conquest!"
Smith's form became blurred and widened.
A moment later a jaguar was turning in the room looking around him as if to orient itself and... the animal disappeared.
There is no other word.
At one point, the Jaguar was there... the next moment there was nothing there.
In the form of a Jaguar, John Pluto Smith reappeared a few hundred miles away.
Aware that the defense systems of the orbital city must have already spotted him.
He opened wide his feline mouth and spit... a ball of fire! Then Smith disappeared again as laser beams and other projectiles intersected where he had stood.
The American superhero reappeared a few hundred miles away and spewed a new fireball... a little more powerful.
This was the effect of Artemis Arrows, an Authority that Smith had acquired after defeating the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting. This Divine Authority allowed Smith to shoot 6 'arrows'... per lunar month (21 days). But if he fired two of these 'arrows' on the same night, the second 'arrow' exploded with greater power, if he fired a third 'arrow' (again on the same night) the explosion was even more powerful... and so on.
Continuing to move several hundred kilometers between each attack, John Pluto Smith shoots his first five 'arrows' within seconds.
He materialized one last time outside the shield... his first five attacks had been absorbed without really doing any damage... but Artemis's sixth arrow was no longer an 'attack' it was a 'cataclysm'.
If the 'arrow' had exploded on the surface of a planet, an area equal to that of a country like France, Germany, Oregon, or Algeria would have completely disappeared, transformed in an instant into a sea of flames!
The explosion caused a temporary breach.
Godou's Vimana crosses the opening before the shield regenerates.
The first obstacle was overcome.
The Vinama disappeared just after its passengers had gone ashore.
The neighborhood where they had landed was on fire, the buildings collapsed around them.
Yet, the trampling of thousands of feet echoed throughout the city.
Amid the smoke, the invaders discovered Ayodia's army.
Thousands of men armed with circular spears and shields, fast riders, archers, war wagons, and even elephants carrying a tower on their backs... but all were animated statues.
Erica Blandelli smiled with a stressed expression on her face.
"I feel like the King of the End doesn't really like people ringing at his door."
Godou also had trouble smiling.
There were thousands of stone statues...
The smoke fluctuated, allowing him to discover that the street was filled with warriors who were advancing towards them.
—tens of thousands of warriors—
Shirou had climbed up a tower in a few hops.
"Rama's warriors come from all directions. I see groups in every street, in every square, as far as I can see!"
The King of the Harem swallowed his saliva but he smiled fiercely in anticipation of the fight that was about to begin. A handful of heroes against... hundreds of thousands of stone soldiers! A gigantic army assembled to complete a single task: kill them.
It was the second hurdle they would have to overcome before they could face the King of the End.
(1) I often point out that it is difficult to defeat Hakuno Kishinami but it is likely that she would be unable to win against Salvatore Doni... after all, how to predict the attacks of an enemy who does not know himself what he is doing?