— — — — — —
Sardinia. Noon, the sun hanging directly overhead.
With Liliana leading the way, Ryo stepped off the gangway of the cruise ship.
Waiting below were members of the Bronze-Black Cross stationed on the island—just the local branch head and two subordinates.
Ryo gave them a casual nod and slipped into the luxury sedan the Cross had arranged.
The seating was Liliana, Ryo, and Athena in a row at the back, with Diana at the wheel.
The local Cross members had done their job: provide a car, clear the way, and stay out of trouble.
As the car rolled forward, Diana spoke up carefully. "Lord Yagami, should we notify any of the local noble houses of your arrival?"
"No need. I didn't come here to play showpiece."
Ryo leaned back, eyes half-closed, and added with a lazy smile: "Of course, if they're so eager to throw their lives away, I don't mind granting an audience."
"…Understood." Diana let out a silent sigh and answered respectfully.
As for those aristocrats begging to meet him? They could serve as disposable pawns. If they complained, the Cross would deal with it.
That was clear enough from her recent phone call with the aging Grandmaster of the Bronze-Black Cross. During the call, the old man had agreed—without hesitation—to Liliana Kranjcar's sudden "marriage arrangement." He hadn't even demanded to meet Ryo before pledging the entire organization's allegiance.
That little display of "wisdom" from her grandfather had left Liliana in a daze ever since.
Married? Just like that?
To a man she'd barely known for a single day?
Granted, Ryo wasn't unattractive—in fact, he was exactly her type—but wasn't this all moving absurdly fast? Weren't they supposed to… date first? Maybe spend time together, see if their personalities matched, confess, get engaged…?
Did I… sleep through an entire year of my life?
While Liliana was still reeling, Ryo turned to Athena. "I hear Sardinia's a pretty famous summer vacation spot. Want to relax a little?"
"If it's after we finish our business, I've no objections," Athena replied, fiddling with the new smartphone she'd picked up in Milan.
"Then it's settled," Ryo said, grinning as he noticed her frowning at the screen. He shrugged. "Seems like the connection here's a little sluggish, huh?"
"The base stations are inadequate," Diana supplied. "You'll get better reception near the beaches or hotels."
She gave a wry smile. The media always bragged about how modern Europe was, but reality…? Whole villages without internet. Even in Sardinia, only high-end hotels and a few key sites had 3G, with a sprinkle of 4G. Anywhere else, if you could hold a signal for ten minutes under the noonday sun, you were lucky.
"…As I thought. Human technology isn't my strong suit," Athena muttered, giving up and putting the phone aside. She turned to the window instead. "There's a divine beast circling above the city. Looks like Verethragna's body has been shattered. He's been beaten down."
"God-king Melqart also took heavy damage," Ryo murmured, eyes still closed. "He's holed up in a temple on the island, trying to recover. Both sides are racing against time."
Athena's voice was calm, almost clinical. "That's better for us."
As the Mother Earth Goddess who'd once been suppressed and scorned, Athena had no reason to show mercy to former oppressors. Whether it was Verethragna or Melqart, if the chance came, she'd gladly cut their throats.
Conveniently enough, both fit the experiment she and Ryo had in mind.
"And which one first?" Ryo asked with a grin.
Athena thought for only a moment before deciding. "The war god. His master is the kind of deity I despise, and his ten incarnations make him perfect for monitoring how much of the god-body remains intact."
In the front seat, Diana and Liliana both shivered.
So this was Campione's perspective? Pick your target like pigs at a butcher's stall, then decide how best to slice them apart for comparison? Terrifying didn't even begin to cover it.
It was the first time either of them had been this close to an actual Campione preparing to kill. And it was nothing like what they'd imagined.
"Head for the city center," Ryo ordered suddenly. His eyes gleamed. "Verethragna should be there."
Liliana's breath caught. The city center… if Ryo fought an unbound god there, the destruction would be unimaginable. The casualties—
She turned to speak, but the words stuck in her throat.
As a knight, she wanted to beg him to spare the innocent. But as his betrothed, her heart told her to trust his judgment.
In the end, she said nothing. She would wait. And if the battle began, when she—just a powerless 'ornament' in a god war—couldn't help him, she would at least rush to save the civilians.
That wouldn't anger him, would it? Surely not.
Just then, Ryo said casually, "Actually, it'd be better to lure the fight out of the city. Athena, any ideas for a testing ground?"
Liliana's head snapped toward him, eyes wide.
And she caught the wink he sent her way.
Her clear blue eyes shining, though she quickly ducked her head again.
Athena, however, gave Liliana a sidelong look before speaking evenly. "The battlefield doesn't matter to me. What does matter is this: don't let the witch escape."
The witch? Diana and Liliana exchanged puzzled glances.
But Ryo understood instantly.
Pandora.
The mother of all Campiones. The key figure in every battle against the gods.
The legend said she only appeared to bless mortals who achieved the miracle of defeating a god through sheer defiance of the impossible.
Ryo chuckled. "So all I have to do is play the weakling, huh?"
He licked his lips, amusement flashing in his eyes. In the middle of a fight with Verethragna, Pandora would have no choice but to appear. And if she dared peek even once, he'd drag her out of the Netherworld with his own hands.
Weakling? Liliana blinked in confusion at his words. What did he mean by that?
But before she could dwell on it, the sedan pulled up to a broad square before the Church of San Domenico.
"We've arrived, my lord," she said quickly, stepping out to hold the door.
Ryo emerged, stretching slightly, then turned his head toward the wide avenue leading down to the sea.
Two figures stood there.
Two boys.
The one in the tattered white robe, handsome features twisted into a mad grin, smiled at Ryo like a wolf sighting prey.
.
.
.