Chapter 158

CHAPTER 2 The Divine Hero On the day of the tournament, the grounds are abuzz with a festival atmosphere, just as Cerceus said they would be. A massive colosseum, built with the God of Creation’s powers, stands tall in the spirit world’s plaza. After hearing that the colosseum, which can seat thousands upon thousands, was completed in only a few minutes, I say to myself in admiration: “That’s the spirit world for you.” When I walk inside, there are already countless deities seated in the stands. It appears that most deities in the unified spirit world have gathered within the cone-shaped arena, making it so crowded that there’s barely any space to walk. I push through the horde until I arrive at the seat Aria said she’d reserved for me. Only after sitting can I finally let out a sigh of relief. However, I’m soon bothered by how hot the place is. The sun is shining directly on us because the colosseum has no roof, and the heat coming from the other deities’ bodies isn’t helping. Mn… It’s so hot…! Then, all of a sudden, I hear a high-spirited voice coming from behind me. “Iced coffee! Get your iced coffee! Nice and cold!” Oh, someone’s selling drinks! Perfect! “Excuse me! One iced coffee, please!” I turn around, only to find Cerceus carrying a massive coffee server like a backpack. “…?! You?! Seriously?!” “Wh-what? This way, I can watch the Divine Cup while making some quick coin at the same time. I’m killing two birds with one stone.” “Every day, you become a little less worthy of the title ‘God of Swords’…” He pours some coffee out of the server on his back and hands it to me, so I pass him a goddon in return. “Anyway, how’d you even get such a good seat, Rista?” “Oh, Aria reserved it for me.” “Being able to reserve seats like this is one benefit of having your Hero participate in the Divine Cup. You’re lucky.” He has a point. The place is extremely crowded, but I’m sitting in the front row with a great view of where the match is going to take place. Cerceus lowers his coffee server near me. “It’s about to start. Mind if I take a seat next to you and rest a little?” “What?! Ew! No!” “Oh, come on! Both seats on either side of you are empty!” I reluctantly allow Cerceus to sit next to me since he promised to move when Aria and Adenela arrived. All of a sudden, a cheerful voice reverberates throughout the arena. “Hello, everyone, and welcome to the tenth Divine Cup! I, the Goddess of Sound, Muza, will be your host today!” A goddess wearing cat ears is speaking in the center of the colosseum. Despite not even wearing a mic, her voice can be heard clearly throughout the stadium. Maybe it helps that sound is her specialty. “For our first match, in the west corner, we have the Impregnable Hero, Masato Morino, representing Aegis, the God of Shields!” “Rista, look. The Hero’s coming.” Cerceus points at a gate to a passageway that leads to the center of the colosseum. After it creaks open, a man wearing armor comes walking out equipped with a shield far too big for his delicate frame. “And in the east corner, we have the Hero of Heaven’s Blow, Reimi Mochizuki, representing Ariadoa, the Goddess of the Seal!” The gate on the opposite side opens to reveal a woman lightly equipped compared to her opponent. She is robed in a dress similar to the ones we goddesses wear, and is holding a staff. It looks like she is more of a magic-type Hero, just like Aria said. Reimi Mochizuki appears to be in her twenties with long, reddish-brown hair that hangs to her waist. She has a prominent nose and beautiful, fine features as well. “So that’s Aria’s Hero…” Aria and her Hero are conversing on one side of the colosseum while the white-bearded God of Shields, Aegis, and his Hero are speaking on the other. It reminds me of a cornerman with his boxer if I were to compare it with Seiya’s world. I’m guessing the deities will be giving their Heroes instruction during the battle as well. Awash in the cheers of spectators, the two Heroes eventually leave their deity’s side and face each other in the center. Compared to Masato Morino’s slightly tense expression, Aria’s Hero, Reimi Mochizuki, shows a fearless smirk. “Now, let the game begin!” A gong reverberates throughout the colosseum, and immediately, the cheers grow even louder. Reimi promptly backsteps, creating distance between her and Masato. She then raises her staff into the air, and a giant magic circle appears before her. She’s fast! She made that magic circle in less than a second! But Masato already had his shield up, protecting himself from any potential attack. I almost immediately begin doubting my eyes because his shield begins to multiply horizontally until he has over ten shields surrounding himself! “Whoa! Could this be a move passed down from the God of Shields himself?! Masato has replicated his shield and is bracing himself for Reimi’s magic attack!” Reimi swings her staff, and the magic circle glitters. “Tidal Wave.” Copious amounts of water burst out of the massive magic circle. The momentum slowly gets stronger as the tidal wave closes in on Masato. The powerful tsunami seemingly swallows him, but after it passes, Masato is still standing while surrounded by his shields just as he was moments ago. It doesn’t look like he took any damage. Without missing a beat, Reimi is already creating another magic circle in the air. “Lightning Ball.” A sphere of lightning erupts from her magic circle. A few dozen suddenly appear in the blink of an eye before streaking toward Masato. The crackling barrage peppers his shields, but Aegis simply strokes his white beard and cheerfully laughs as he watches. “First, you get his shields wet, then you try to use a lightning attack, huh? Unfortunately, that isn’t going to work. The move I taught him, Absorb Shield, can completely block both physical and magical attacks. Furthermore…” The Goddess of Sound suddenly raises her voice: “Wh-what is the meaning of this?! Masato’s shields are still harboring lightning, even though the lightning attack has already stopped! It’s as if his shields were absorbing her attacks!” I gulp air as well. Those shields aren’t just for blocking! It’s like the move Seiya used against the Death Keeper. He’s absorbing her power! “Focus on defending a little longer. Finish absorbing the rest of her attack, then counter and end this.” “Understood.” The God of Shields instructs Masato like a master to his pupil. What are you going to do, Aria?! I look over in Aria’s direction in a panic, but she’s just as calm as ever. Reimi Mochizuki laughs. “A counter, huh? Good luck.” She then raises her staff into the air once more. “Tidal Wave.” Sh-she’s using water magic again?! Not only is it not going to work, but he’s going to absorb her magic! Another tidal wave slams into Masato’s shields, but it’s different from last time. The copious amount of water doesn’t disappear from the colosseum. Instead, it turns into a massive sphere of water around him. “Floating Bubble.” Reimi aims her free hand at Masato. The Goddess of Sound then yells: “Is this wind magic I see?! Masato has been trapped!” Masato is technically underwater now. I get that he can defend against anything with his shields, but he’s only human. “Is he going to be okay? He’s not going to drown, right?” Right after Reimi chuckles, Masato lowers his shields, then unsheathes his sword underwater, unable to endure any longer. He immediately cuts through the sphere of liquid, expelling large volumes of water along with himself. “Pant… Pant…” After escaping, he gasps for air, faces forward, and shudders…because there were already countless spheres of lightning completely surrounding him! Before he can even raise his shield, the lightning magic strikes his body. “Gwah!” Masato shakes as if he were being electrocuted before dropping to the ground. The Goddess of Sound declares: “G-game, set, and match! The winner: Ariadoa’s Hero, Reimi Mochizuki!” The crowd explodes with applause and cheers. S-so this is Aria’s Hero! What power! Her opponent was a carefully selected Hero, and yet, she crushed him! “Hey, Cerceus! Do battles between Heroes usually end this quickly?” “Not at all! Some battles last more than an hour, even! The difference in skill was just too high this time. That’s all.” Cerceus can’t contain his excitement. “At any rate, Ariadoa is amazing! She can use her ability to break seals in order to awaken her Heroes’ hidden powers! She’s the sole reason Reimi Mochizuki was able to become a summoner! She’s the ideal goddess for summoning Heroes!” Not only Cerceus, but every deity in the arena is buzzing with excitement. I could even hear the people behind me say: “That’s Aria for ya! There aren’t many who can raise a Hero quite like she can!” “I bet Aria’s Hero and Valkyrie’s Hero are gonna end up going head-to-head again!” I almost jump out of my seat after hearing that, and Cerceus looks up at me with surprise. “H-hey, where are you going, Rista? Valkyrie’s Hero is fighting next, you know?” “Yeah, but I already know he’s going to win, so I’m just going to come back later when the final match starts. Tell Aria I said ‘hi’ when she gets here.” “S-seriously?! You still haven’t even finished your coffee.” “Yeah, it’s awful. Dump it out for me when you get a chance.” “…?! Don’t you think it’s a little rude to say that to the man who made it?!” I wave good-bye to the yelling Divine Blade and retire from the colosseum. After heading farther down the plaza, I look back at the round arena. I can still hear the deities’ spirited cheers, despite being this far away. The colosseum is apparently going to be taken down almost immediately after the Divine Cup ends. The God of Creation made it in the blink of an eye, so I’m sure they can get rid of it just as quickly, only to bring it back again in another thousand years. I think back to the match. It was impressive. I’m sure the following battles are going to be just as amazing. As a goddess who saves parallel worlds, I should probably stay and watch, but… But… Sigh… If only Seiya were allowed to participate… I heave another sigh…which must mean I’m frustrated, and that’s probably why I left the colosseum. Valkyrie’s Hero’s stats were extraordinary when I checked, and Aria’s Hero possesses incredible magic power, but I still think it’s plenty possible for Seiya to win if he goes into Berserk Mode. Plus, what he does is remarkable in a different way than what makes them special. I’m sure the other deities would also gasp in admiration if they saw what Seiya could do! I sulk as I walk away from the colosseum until I notice a space that looks to have been set up just for the event. “Hm? I wonder what this is.” Written on the sign are the words PAST HEROES EXHIBITION HALL. Oh, I had no idea they made one of these, too. Seeing that it’s an exhibition hall, I’m guessing I can see past Heroes who won the Divine Cup. I was planning on ignoring the building, but I instead stop dead in my tracks. If I’m not going to watch the matches, I could at least check out what kinds of Heroes there used to be. With that thought in mind, I step foot into the exhibition hall. It’s extremely quiet inside, which is understandable since the Divine Cup is still going on. The colosseum was created two days ago, so I guess this was created around the same time. These kinds of exhibitions are probably something people check out only before the event begins. “Welcome.” I turn around to the voice, but there’s nobody there. However, when I lower my gaze, I find a small girl in a kimono before me. “R-Rasti?!” “Long time no see, Rista.” The Goddess of Shape-Shifting, who taught Seiya how to Transform, is standing before me. She is so short that it’s easy to mistake her for a little girl, and her cherubic appearance doesn’t do her any favors, either. Nevertheless, she has apparently been alive for tens of thousands of years. It’s still unusual to see her outside of the secluded celestial mountains, though… “What are you doing here?” “I lost in a game of rock paper scissors, so I have to work reception at this special event space.” “O-oh, you don’t say. Wait! Rock paper scissors…?!” “As you can see, I haven’t had any visitors, so it’s been rather boring. I’m glad you came. Let me show you around.” Rasti then motions for me to follow her and walks ahead. She ends up bringing me to a hallway with pictures lined up on the walls like an art museum. “These are the portraits of the legendary Heroes. Not only those who won the Divine Cup, but also legendary Heroes who have saved multiple parallel worlds.” “Oh, wow.” “This exhibition hall is normally under the heart’s jurisdiction, but it was temporarily moved here for the Divine Cup.” “Look at all these Heroes!” I find myself utterly astonished by the dozens of portraits. Rasti proudly says: “Incidentally, the Divine Cup was founded ten thousand years ago.” “I-it’s been going on that long?!” “Well, in the human world, it has only been a century, but numerous Heroes have been summoned during that time, and there are even Heroes on this wall that are now deities themselves.” “Oh, really?” “Anyway, please take your time and enjoy the exhibition.” After Rasti leaves, I walk down the passage alone while looking at the portraits. Underneath the paintings are plates with the Hero’s name and title written on them. THE HERO OF ADVANCEMENT, AKIHIKO TSUKAMOTO THE HOT-BLOODED HERO, GOUKI HITANI THE BRUTAL HERO, AKARI RIN THE HERO OF GRATIFICATION, MITSUE ENOKI THE NIMBLE HERO, HAYATO MITARAI THE HERO OF GOOD FORTUNE, KYOUKO SHIBA Th-there are so many different titles! Seiya would definitely be “The Cautious Hero.” The titles are so interesting that I can’t help but read over every last one of them. However, by the time I reach the end of the hallway… “Hm? What’s this?” The words fall naturally out of my mouth. The last spot has a frame, but there’s no portrait. There is, however, a plate with a title on it. THE DIVINE HERO It’s strange. The title’s still here, but there’s no portrait inside the frame. It’s as if someone had removed it. There’s no name on the plate, either. H-hold on… After a closer inspection, it looks like the name was just scratched off. I squint hard at the space when, all of a sudden, Rasti comes jogging over. “Hey, uh… Rasti? What happened to—” “Rista! Rista!” Rasti eagerly shows me a crystal ball displaying the inside of the colosseum. “Valkyrie’s Hero and Aria’s Hero are about to fight!” “What?! Already?!” “They were apparently on the same bracket! Valkyrie has trained over five legendary Heroes already! And Aria has the next greatest number of legendary Heroes under her belt! This match is a clash of fate! It’s more or less the grand finals!” Valkyrie may be the strongest goddess in the unified spirit world, but Aria is no slouch, either! She’s a seasoned goddess that has saved over three hundred parallel worlds, after all. There’s no telling who will win. “I have to close the exhibition hall! There’s no way I’m going to miss this!” Rasti tosses the crystal ball on the ground, then runs to the door as fast as she can. What the…?! She’s not even going to lock up?! A-anyway, I should probably go watch the fight, too! “Rasti, wait! I’m coming with you!” I rush after Rasti and head back to the colosseum. “Now, for the match you’ve all been waiting for! The Hero of Heaven’s Blow, Reimi Mochizuki, is already anxiously waiting for the Hero of Destruction, Ethan Schiffer, in the center of the arena!” The Goddess of Sound, Muza, raises her voice. When I return to my front-row seat, Adenela and Cerceus are sitting one seat apart from each other. I promptly sit down in the seat between them. “Oh, Rista! You’re back!” “G-good t-timing. The m-match is about to s-start.” Aria is frantically giving Reimi Mochizuki instruction in her corner. “Stay calm, Reimi! All you need to do is keep a safe distance just like we practiced! It doesn’t matter how high his attack power is if he can’t touch you!” “You can count on me. I won’t let him get close to me, no matter what.” Ethan still hasn’t appeared, but Valkyrie is already waiting in his corner on the opposite side. Listening to their conversation, she roars with laughter. “Ha-ha-ha! It sounds like you’ve come up with quite a few strategies, but it’ll all be for nothing! You can’t beat my Hero!” “We won’t know unless we try!” Aria is stricken with rage. M-man, it’s not often I see Aria like this. I guess Rasti wasn’t joking about it being a clash of fate… “Now, let’s hear it for Ethan Schiffer! Come on out!” The crowd erupts with cheers as the gate to Ethan’s passageway opens. Every deity’s eyes are glued to it. However, no matter how much time passes, the Hero of Destruction doesn’t appear. “What’s going on?” “Did something happen?” Even Valkyrie furrows her brow. “The hell is Ethan doing? Takin’ a piss or something?” A commotion slowly overtakes the crowd when, all of a sudden, something is tossed into the air from inside the passageway and lands inside the arena. It hits the ground with a thud before rolling on the stone pavement. Huh…? And since I’m sitting in the front row, I get a clear view of what that something is. I double-check—triple-check—until the image is burned into my mind. But my heart can’t accept what my eyes are seeing. If something terrifying were to happen so suddenly, even a deity would be in shock to the point that they couldn’t even scream. Rolling on the floor is the head of Valkyrie’s Hero, Ethan Schiffer, twisted in agony.