A pair of eyes opened slowly.

Kusanagi Godou woke up with a refreshed feeling. He couldn't tell why, but he felt his body had changed. The sensation was simply weird, it's like he was not in his, but a different body. To put it simply, his sensations felt more accurate right now.

He can hear the sound of trees brushing outside of his room, the people outside, and even the heartbeat of the other person standing near the door of the room. He can see the words that was written in a book in the table a few meters from him, even the particles in the air seemed to be scanned by his eyes.

Everything felt so... clear.

Is this the so called 'Enlightenment'? Godou thought briefly as he examined the room he was in.

Most likely it was a room from an inn. The design wasn't overly classic and it was simple, perfect to his taste. He was lying in a simple bed, his clothes changed into casual ones and there were no wounds that can be spotted from it.

Strange. he received an attack that could even melt steel. How come that he wasn't injured in the slightest?

He rose and sat in the bed with a confused expression. When he tried to move just now, why didn't he felt the strange sensation on his shoulder? Curious, he moved his right shoulder and noted that the strange feeling from a past injury wasn't present.

He heard silent footsteps heading towards his way.

He didn't even focus, his hearing naturally intercept the sound. Even the tiniest sounds didn't escape his sharp senses, honestly it feels weird. He can hear some people outside of his room gossiping about a beautiful girl in the vicinity. A hint of admiration and envy can be deduced from their tones.

"Acting so reckless, and yet he's still alive... Recovering so quickly in such short time, sure enough-"

Hearing a faint whisper, Godou turned at the direction where the sound of footsteps were coming. He wasn't surprised to see a blonde girl staring at him in wonder and slight suspicion, while peeking at the slightly opened door eight meters away from him..

"About that," he muttered and enjoyed the sound of the girl being surprised. "I'm also curious. Care to tell me what happened, Erica?"

The slightly opened door of his room became fully opened, revealing Erica. As usual, she look very stunning like a rose, even though she wasn't wearing any make up or dressed in a striking manner. Her very presence screamed of elegance.

"Let's discuss about that later," Erica said. "Right now, Godou, are you hungry?" she asked in a knowing tone. Even though it's not evident in her voice, somehow, Godou still manage to deduce.

Now that she said it, I am hungry. He thought to himself as he nodded at the Milanese. His stomach was growling and rumbling, causing a commotion, demanding food and nutrients. He was sure that he could eat a whole chicken in this state.

"Sounds good."

o.O.0.0.O.o

Ristorante:

Fifteen minutes later. Godou was wolfing down all sorts of food that Erica had brought.

There were so many different food prepared ranging from Italian to American food. Breads, pork, meat, chicken, vegetables. All kinds of food were in the table and he was helping himself while Erica only stared at him as if she found this scene weird.

"So, what's with me?" briefly stopping in his quest for refilling his stomach, Godou inquired. "Last I remember, I was struck by lightning."

Erica was silent for a moment, as if she was pondering on how to explain it to him.

"Well, in a nutshell, you killed Verethragna and became a devil," with bluntness, Erica explained briefly.

Godou stopped drinking and look like he was about to spit the juice that he just downed. "What!?"

"That's right Godou, you're now a true devil." Erica paused for a moment. "Remember what I told you before you went to foolishly face Verethragna earlier?"

Godou pondered for a moment, recalling the events that happened before he walked to his 'death'. Erica received a wound and he ran away with her, then they argued for a bit where he decided to stall time for her to recover. Then she convinced him to remain foolish and then kissed him in the cheek.

He valiantly fought the blush that threatened to take over his face.

"You said... maybe I could do a great reversal. That my chance of dying is very high, but if successful, the reward is very substantial, right?" he repeated the words left in his mind.

Erica nodded with an impressed expression.

"That's right. Godou, since you have succeeded, you have gotten that reward. A power that no ordinary human could have, the power to kill gods." she explained. For a moment, Godou wanted to laugh, but decided against it when he saw that Erica was adorning a serious expression. "Congratulations, Godou. Today marks the day of your rebirth as a 'monster.' Think of it as a second birthday."

Erica smiled sweetly. With such unforgettable loveliness, it was a glamorous smile as befitted Erica Blandelli.

"...What?"

"How should I put it? Yes... You are no longer an ordinary human. Kusanagi Godou has become a god-slayer, a Campione. That's basically it."

"G-God-slayer? Campione?"

"Right, didn't I tell you before the battle against Verethragna? That there were only six god-slayers in this world. Devil Kings who usurped the authorities of gods. Campiones. You have officially become the seventh."

"Whaaaat - !?"

o.O.0.0.O.o

Godou didn't even know what to do.

He can tell that Erica wasn't lying to him. He already had known that she was not a person who would lie. But he still can't believe it. Just yesterday, he was a normal, average teenager, and now he's suddenly a person that has powers to fight gods.

Just where is the logic in that.

Erica was gone and he didn't know where she was.

Right now, Godou was on his room. Thinking about that things that Erica said to him.

The difference between normal magi and a Campione was akin to a pellet gun and a jumbo aircraft courier filled with unstable nuclear warheads. Campiones are existences that defied every logic. Erica said that there's one Campione that can turn into lightning, while another that can cut anything with a sword.

A devil with the ultimate body. An existence that cannot be killed by normal means, and can fight gods as an equal. A person who has the powers that can bring immense destruction.

He was now one of the people who carries the title of Campione.

Really, at first he thought of it as a simple exaggeration. But when Erica told him about Authorities -the power that a human gains for killing a god- he truly felt that he had something like that inside him. A weapon that can be used any time he wanted.

Added to his already inhuman senses, Godou had no choice but to believe.

That's why, right now, Godou was slumping on his bed. Thinking about how his future will become different. From what Erica said, disaster follows wherever Campione goes, and that peace and Campione can never be together.

Now this bothered him. If what she said was true, what would happen to him now?

Sighing, Godou reluctantly let go of that thought. Now that nutrients had been replenished, he wants to sleep. He could only take so much for a day and he feel like he had reach his limit. Any more and his sanity will leave him.

Thus, ignoring the warning of something dangerous on the back of his head, Godou went to sleep.

Having slept for who knows how many hours, Godou woke up later and found himself imprisoned

o.O.0.0.O.o

Sometimes, Godou admitted that he was an idiot.

Before he went to sleep, something was telling him that there was danger lurking around. Even though this danger was not enough to harm him, it was still danger none the less. Because he ignored that warning and slept without any care, he found himself in this strange situation.

With both his hands and feet restrained, Godou was lying on the ground.

He seemed to be inside a barn of some countryside farm. Stacks of hay were lying all around, and in fact, Godou had been sleeping on one of them. Both his wrists and ankles were bound by iron shackles.

In addition, looking down at Godou were two men in cosplay, each dressed in a gray robe. They resembled actors from a blockbuster movie, like Jedi Knights in some kind of space odyssey or magi from a fantasy movie.

Since their hoods were pulled down completely, the men's faces could not be seen.

"He's awake."

"Well then, let's begin with the interrogation."

Godou was in alarm. Even when there were two suspicious men in front of him -that were probably planning of doing something not good, for him at least- his senses remained calm. Where was the panic and other emotions?!

"Oi oi! I am a Japanese tourist and I don't think I deserve to be treated like this. Are you people sure you didn't get the wrong guy!?"

"...No. You are the right one."

One of the men answered quietly to Godou's protests, in fluent Japanese.

Godou remembered that despite being a Milanese, Erica was also fluent in Japanese. Because of this, and the fact that the little part of the face visible beneath the hood seemed to be Caucasian, he was able to discern that these two people are magi.

"You must be 'Kusanagi Godou,' right? We already received the news. Erica Blandelli the knight of Milan and the youth named Kusanagi had been wandering all over Sardinia."

To Godou's surprise, they even knew about Erica. The man turned his somber gaze towards Godou.

"...Trying to get to the bottom of our affairs is pointless. All I can say is that we are members of an ancient magic association. For the past week or so, we have been investigating the 'god' which had suddenly manifested."

God? Are they referring to Verethragna? Godou noted. In truth, he was surprised that he was doing this instead of panicking.

"Erica Blandelli and the youth from Japan. Apparently traveled all over the place in pursuit of the god's trail. Then finally this morning, the god's presence suddenly vanished, and stability returned to the island..."

Hey hey, shouldn't you be happy because of that? Godou mentally scolded Hooded Man A.

"Under such conditions, we feared one possibility. Perhaps, the god who manifested on Sardinia had been defeated by Erica Blandelli, and she would be reborn as a 'Campione!'" Hooded Man B added.

So they are suspecting Erica. Not that he could blame them. Erica was just a great person, and if he was in their position, he would also suspect of the talented girl becoming a Campione instead of her completely nameless companion.

"Boy, our situation is complicated. Tell us where Erica Blandelli is located right now, and we might just spare you."

"If you decide to be stubborn, we have ways of making you talk!"

Noisily talking at the same time, they threatened. But oddly enough, Godou didn't feel threatened. In fact, he did something stupid as response.

"Wait a minute," he muttered and Hooded Man A and B paid attention to him. "To my knowledge, Campiones are similar to gods. If Erica did really became a Campione, what would you do? Don't tell me that you would fight her?"

That was a reasonable excuse. Maybe they'll stop and release me without any other issue. Godou thought hopefully, praising his shrewdness at the same time.

A few minutes passed in silence. Great, they are thinking of this carefully!

Just when Godou thought of that, Hooded Man A spoke in a threatening tone.

"If that is true, then our association [Church of the Eastern Magi] will go full force to stop her!" when he said that, Godou immediately thought of something outrageous.

What if their organization had members like Erica, who could severe a god's arm with pure skill? Surely, if faced with a whole association of that caliber, even someone who's as talented as Erica would go down, even with authorities and such.

Due to lack of experience, Godou still did not know that even if all of the world's population of magi were as great as Erica, against a god-slayer, it was akin to an army of ants.

Of course, it completely eluded him since he was clueless about absurd powers.

"To prevent her from using her Authority, we'll just have to use you, and other people as hostages." Hooded Man B added with a cruel tone. "Surely, even if she's a Campione, she's still a knight. As a knight, she would not be able to ignore the innocents in danger even if she were to sacrifice her life."

"...or her delicious maiden body." Hooded Man A added with a lewd grin from his visible mouth.

Godou felt enraged after hearing the men's reply. They would not only put complete innocents in danger, they even thought about such lascivious acts towards a girl who would sacrifice her life to do much greater good.

Now, scums like these must be taught a lesson.

Godou wanted to fight back, to teach these people a lesson that will remain on their minds for all eternity.

"So you would endanger people just to please your lust?" he asked with a cold tone.

The two suddenly felt the temperature around them drop. But since they didn't have the instincts of a fighter, they only ignored it.

"Maybe, maybe not; I'll let you form your own conclusions." the way Hooded Man A said this along with the sneer that followed this statement, caused his visible mouth to contort into something derange, monstrous, even.

Godou felt the last string snap. He needed to teach these scums a lesson.

He needed to fight.

This simple thought caused his body to heat up. He needs to fight, he needs to use power, he needed to use his authority.

In Godou's mind, a picture of a golden sword appeared, no he didn't even know if the description to call it sword was there. Even if he only saw it for the first time, he understood quickly what the golden 'sword's' purpose was.

No matter how many amounts of magic, whether weak or god-like, it will be 'sliced'.

...and the iron shackles that were binding his wrists and ankles happen to be made from magic.

Thus, the result is that, they will be 'cut'.

Yes, he needed this 'sword' to make it happen. He doesn't know where it was specifically located, but he knew that it was inside him. He only needed to call it.

And call it he did.

The space above Godou suddenly became distorted, causing the two hooded men to take a few steps back. Between the 'real' world and the 'imaginary' world – which was not meant to exist – appeared a path accessed through the cracks of both.

There, it appeared.

It had an abnormal shape that doesn't match any swords that were existing. Its grip were dyed in the color of gold a strange one sided handguard, and the the same length as a long sword. The blade of the 'sword' was dull and had the shape of cylindrical drill-shaped-pillar made up of three independently rotating segments that spins in slowly alternating in different directions, the middle segment spinning clockwise and the top and bottom segments spinning counterclockwise.

Even if it was floating above Godou, a single flash of gold destroyed the iron shackles that were binding him.

Slowly, Godou got up from his lying position and casually held the gold 'sword' that was floating idly, a twitch can be seen under his eye.

"Too bad," Godou spoke in a cold tone. "Erica wasn't the one who became a Campione..."

He could now see the two hooded men shaking in fear.

o.O.0.0.O.o

The two hooded men laid in the floor unconsciously.

After his burst of emotions, it only came to Godou that there weren't three heartbeats in the barn, but four. Naturally he knew who it was and despaired when he realized that the third party had been watching ever since it all started.

Really, why doesn't he listen to his instincts more often?

"You... you've been watching from the beginning..." it was not a question. Godou turned towards the direction of the fourth heartbeat.

As he expected, from the hidden area of the barn, Erica casually walked out with an amused expression on her face.

"To think that you would use your authority to fight lowlife magi like them, and you said you were a pacifist." Erica muttered while chuckling lightly. "I think you would become a tyrant in near future."

Godou scowled. True, he used the sword to beat them senseless, but he knew that aside from some bruises, the hooded men will be fine. After all, the sword was dull and he didn't use any of its power when he attack them.

"I wouldn't do so if you only came and decided to help me." he sent a glare at Erica, who decided to whistle. "I can't believe you stood back and watched them take me unconscious!"

Erica only shrugged in response. "You're a Campione, what can they do?"

"Even so! Aren't you worried that someone was just taken by suspicious men?"

"You're the one to speak, compared to you, using your authority, what I did was much better!" Erica retorted, seemingly struck by his accusation. "Besides, I was about to help you and summon my sword when that sword flashed and negated my summoning magic. For a moment, I was worried that you'd do something stupid like making this town sink!" she pointed at the golden sword on Godou's hand.

"The sword's harmless. It could only negate magic." Godou explained briefly. "I think I can use it for something combat related, but I didn't. In this state, this sword could only cut magic. But it's weird, how do I know these stuff?" Godou grumbled.

Erica took a moment to digest the information before replying. "Of course, it's your authority. You would know how to use it without lessons."

Godou groaned. "Anyway, if people like them are searching for us, then I'd rather return back to Japan." he said, but Erica only shook her head. "The god incident is resolved, so I will return to Japan. In that case, I will sever all relations with gods, magic, and all these troublesome things-"

Before Godou could even finish, Erica raised a hand to stop him.

"How complacent. You've really forgotten completely, Godou." Erica exclaimed with great surprise. "There was a message for you. Since this is the decree of the king who commands the oriental divine realm, please pay careful attention."

Erica coughed and deliberately mimicked someone's voice.

"...Your first enemy was the war god Verethragna, the second one is me!" despair began to invade Godou's mind. "Very soon I will recover all my power. When that time comes, take the place of that war god, my spears of fury will be aimed at you! Polish your sword and wait for my arrival! - Basically that."

Godou cursed his stupidity. There was yet another god who had manifested on this island!

For the sake of defeating Verethragna, Godou had made use of Melqart's power.

As Godou realized he had to take responsibility, he trembled... Oh no, was it coming again, was he forced to battle a god again?

This time, Godou once again found himself in the middle of a cross-road.

To Be Continued...

Okay! I guess this is the time for some explanation!

For those who are wondering why I decided to make another story instead of updating my existing ones, my answer is that you're all gonna be disappointed! I am planning to rewrite- yes, rewrite TWO of my stories!

I won't delete them, I'll just post a new one. Expect some other elements and more upgraded writing!

Now that my arm is not on a cast anymore, I'll return to my normal update that take one or two weeks. Just wait when the rewrite is finished and I'll post them immediately.

Then, it's time for the explanation in this. Victorious will follow the original Canon, but I'm gonna make Godou more badass and change his authorities. I'll also add some powers of his enemies and rivals.

Spoiler! Dual wielding Doni!

For his authority, I decided to give Godou only ONE. That is the Golden Sword.

For the appearance, I just based it on Gilgamesh's Ea, except that instead of crimson cuneiform engraving, I decided to change it into gold glyphs!

For those who are disappointed about the loss of many authorities, I'm planning to make this Godou kill gods and ACTUALLY gain authorities from them. This Godou will also be talented in art of tactics, and a backbone to actually fight before he is driven in the corner!

I'll name his authority [Immortal Breaker] basically it's a sword that can act in many ways.

First effect: In its normal form, [Immortal Breaker] is like Doni's authority, it can cut every kind of magic whether from god or Campione. But it doesn't have the sharpness of a real sword so it cannot cut or pierce anything, although it can 'breake'.

Second effect: When supplied with the knowledge about the enemy, [Immortal Breaker] can act just like in Canon. It will summon more golden sphere that will sever tge authority of its target.

Third effect: this is where Godou supply [Immortal Breaker] with magical power and make it create a tornado attack that has the destructive power greater than the Boar's.

Fourth effect: In whereas Godou will have to recite and incantation and use an 'Enuma Elish' version of the Stallion are release white flames to his enemies. This attack is ten times powerful than his Stallion so yeah... this is gonna be pretty badass. But since Godou can only use this one every 12 hours, it can't be that overkill.

So the downsides is that Godou could not resurrect, use lightning, summon an overly large animal, use protection, teleport, move in the speed of light, kick through reality, and remove the cap of the pickle jar with immense ease from his Herculean strength.

However!

I'm planning to give him authorities from the gods he defeat, so in exchange, he will have more diverse powers than in canon.

Which means! That Godou has to actually become more tough since he doesn't have any safety nets in this story!